Proposals to suspend the federal gasoline tax for the summer face tough opposition from both political parties, U.S. Rep. James McGovern said Tuesday.

McGovern, D-Worcester, said he supports a proposal by Sen. Hillary Clinton to suspend the gasoline tax and impose a windfall profit tax on oil companies to make up for the lost revenue.

He said President George Bush and congressional Republicans oppose that plan.

Sen. John McCain has a plan of his own. It involves lifting the 18.4 cent a gallon tax on gasoline and 24.4 cent a gallon levy on diesel fuel from Memorial Day to Labor Day without a corresponding increase in any other tax.

McGovern said he and other Democrats oppose that idea because it would deplete funds needed to repair and replace aging roads and bridges. The gasoline tax goes toward transportation projects and McGovern said the lack of construction money would make highway infrastructure less safe and kill construction jobs.

But, Crystal Benton, a spokeswoman for McCain, said the Arizona senator would use money from the general fund to replace lost revenue due to what he calls a tax holiday.

Democrats complain the transfer from the general fund will drive up the budget deficit.

Benton said McCain wants the tax holiday passed as soon as possible because families need relief from the rising cost of gasoline.

"It's the immediate thing Congress can do to help hard working Americans," she said.

Complicating the issue is the fact that the two leading proponents of suspending the tax are candidates for president.

Neither party wants the opposing candidate to score a legislative victory.

The Senate has already killed one attempt to introduce the McCain plan for a vote and a spokeswoman for McCain said the move was a political one aimed at denying McCain a win.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is the only presidential candidate who opposes a suspension of the gasoline tax.

He called the proposal a political gimmick. He said taxpayers would only save about $25 while the government would lose about $10 billion it needs for highway and bridge repairs. McGovern - who supports Clinton for president - said imposing a windfall profit tax in place of the gasoline tax is only fair and the fiscally responsible thing to do.

The oil companies can afford the tax because they are enjoying record profits, he said.

Exxon Mobile last year took in the largest corporate profits in history, he said.

Benton said McCain opposes the windfall profit tax because oil companies would merely shift the cost to consumers.

McGovern said another way to bring down oil prices is for the federal government to temporarily stop purchasing oil for its strategic reserves.

The reserves are already at 90 percent, he said, and stopping the purchases for a while would put another 70,000 barrels on oil per day on the market.

"There is no shortage of good ideas," he said.

McGovern said the government also needs to put more money into developing alternative energy sources.