Gas prices set record in Chicago

U.S. gasoline prices surged ever closer to the $4-a-gallon threshold in the latest week, placing more pressure on lawmakers to show voters they are working to provide relief at the pump.

In Chicago, the average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped 10 cents to hit $4.352 over the past week, the Energy Department said. That exceeds the city's all-time high of $4.303 set on July 7, 2008.

From the White House to Congress, politicians facing election next year are eager to appear active on this issue, which could prove difficult to fix in the short run.

The average price of U.S. gasoline jumped 8.4 cents to $3.96 a gallon in the week ending Monday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said a weekly update.

Gasoline is up $1.07 a gallon compared to a year ago, with oil above $113 a barrel on Middle East unrest and a weak dollar.

Consumers in New England, the Midwest and on the West Coast were already facing fuel costs averaging above $4 a gallon.

The skyrocketing gasoline prices have lawmakers scrambling to act, but there is little they can do to lower fuel costs quickly, analysts said.

"The political pressure is very strong and the need to do something is very strong, but I don't expect there are many things they can do that will give immediate relief," said David Pumphrey, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who once worked at the Department of Energy.

REPUBLICANS WANT MORE DRILLING

Republicans want to throw open offshore and other areas to more drilling to boost domestic production and cut dependence on foreign oil.

There will be two votes in the Republican-led House of Representatives on two measures that will speed up permitting for offshore oil exploration and allow drilling off the Virginia coast.

Republicans have blasted the Obama administration for slowing the permitting process for offshore oil development and for halting a proposal to expand offshore drilling after last year's massive BP oil spill.

They argue those moves have left the United States more vulnerable to oil price shocks and more dependent on foreign sources for fuel.

ENDING TAX BREAKS FOR BIG OIL

With rising fuel prices cutting into President Barack Obama's poll numbers as he starts his 2012 election bid, he pledged to seek ways to provide "immediate relief" for rising gasoline costs.

In an appearance on TV talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey's popular syndicated program on Monday, Obama described current prices as "unbelievable".

"There are families across the country who've got to drive 50 miles just to get to their job and they just see that money bleeding away from them," he said. "We have to think short-term how can we provide people immediate relief."

Last week, the White House seized on comments from Republican House Speaker John Boehner that seemed to open the door to cutting tax breaks for oil companies.

Boehner backtracked quickly when the White House pressed for action, and he said ending the tax breaks would only lead to higher gasoline prices.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said last week he would move quickly to bring the tax legislation to the floor for a vote, but the bill's timing is unclear