(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain Thursday admitted his idea of a gas tax "holiday" would not solve the problem of rising oil prices but said it would give low-income Americans "just a little break this summer."

Sen. John McCain appears at a town hall meeting in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Wednesday.

"That's all this is about," the presumptive GOP nominee told CNN. "This is not the end of western civilization. This does not solve our dependence on foreign oil. It gives low-income Americans -- who drive further with older automobiles and are bearing the brunt of this -- a little bit of a break for the summer."

McCain, as well as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, has called for a hiatus in the 18.4 cent-a-gallon federal gas tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day -- a period when vacationing Americans spend the most time on the road.
Source: CNN.com - Scott J. Anderson

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