Gas tax off the table for energy, climate bill, White House says

The rumor mill was churning Thursday afternoon that senators were considering an gas tax increase to pay for a energy and climate bill in the works. 

The straight answer from the White House is: "No." 

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, are working on a bipartisan comprehensive energy and climate bill that would create clean energy jobs and reduce dependence on foreign oil. 

"The Senators don'ts support the gas tax and neither does the White House," a White House official said today. "The Senators are considering a variety of mechanisms that would foster a transition to a clean energy economy and we will continue to work with them to identify a means to create a major growth driver for our economy and reduce the pollution that contributes to climate change."

One House member, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.) asked about the gas tax and whether it was in the Senate's energy and climate bill during a Ways and Means hearing on Wednesday. Other panel members were unsure about its consideration. 

Increasing the 18.4-cent tax has been swirling for the past year in relation to a surface transportation bill. The House Transportation panel has written a $500 billion bill -- $50 billion of that for high-speed rail -- and have looked at increasing the gas tax by a few cents to pay for a portion of the measure and shore up the Highway Trust Fund. 

But lawmakers and the White House have largely put the idea of raising the tax -- it has been the same since 1993 -- on the back burner during the recession.