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WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats in Congress pressurize President Biden Banning Russian energy imports as it seeks new ways to punish Moscow for its gory occupation of UkraineEven if the White House resisted the idea, which it claims would increase the price of gasoline and other energy costs for Americans.

The effort mirrors an angry, bipartisan backlash to the President on Capitol Hill Vladimir V.Putin Its unprovoked attack in Russia and Ukraine is an attack that killed thousands and caused 1 million Ukrainians to flee their country in just a week.

The growing momentum behind the effort, which experts say will be largely symbolic, has underscored how few tools both Congress and the White House have at their disposal as they look for new ways to weaken Putin.

Russian energy represents a small fraction of American imports, and Moscow has struggled to export its oil even in the absence of sanctions, as traders, insurance companies and refiners have cut purchases of Russian crude for a variety of reasons, from reputational risk to the safety of tankers. a war zone.

Still, the ride on Capitol Hill continued to gain support on Thursday. It won its most high-profile supporter in California Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi. approved the move At his weekly press conference, he told reporters: “This is what I’m in for. Ban it.”

Across the Capitol, 18 senators split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. announced an invoice declare a national emergency and ban the import of Russian energy.

“There is a moral imperative here,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaskan Republican and co-sponsor of the law, describing how Russian forces bombed hospitals, schools and residential buildings. “I don’t want the US dollar to finance this massacre in Ukraine.”

Most of the lawmakers who loudly called for such a ban and helped American oil producers fill the emerging gap by lifting restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the United States were either from the nation’s top oil and gas producing states. or face tough re-election battles this year.

At the White House, Mr. Biden and his advisers continue to resist calls for more aggressive sanctions on Russian oil, and they say they are concerned this will drive up gas prices.

“Our goal, and the president’s goal, was to maximize influence on President Putin and Russia while minimizing the impact on us, our allies and partners,” said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. Said. “We have no strategic interest in reducing the global energy supply, and that would raise the prices of the gas pump for the American public worldwide as it would reduce the available supply.”

Senator Joe Manchin III, a West Virginia Democrat and lead author of the law banning energy imports from Russia, angrily dismissed that justification, calling the statement “irresponsible” and saying, “They’re so wrong — so wrong.”

Mr. Manchin said at the Capitol, “When you talk about an ailment, can you imagine living in Ukraine right now?” said.

Republicans have tried to separately link the Biden administration’s opposition to both banning Russian gas and drilling new drills at higher prices at the pump.

“This is about replacing Russian oil with American and North American resources that this administration has choked on,” said Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman.

Ms Psaki added on Thursday that the administration has not eliminated any options and that America is looking for ways to reduce Russian energy consumption, but only “in the context of maintaining a stable global energy supply.”

The 700,000 barrels per day the US imports from Russia represent less than 4 percent of American consumption and roughly 14 percent of Russian oil exports. These lost barrels can be replaced by the planned release of strategic reserves and increasing imports first from Canada, Brazil and Colombia and, if necessary, from African producers.

“It would actually be pointless,” said Michael C. Lynch, Head of Strategic Energy and Economic Research. “Oil can be traded and we’ll just import more oil from Africa and/or South America.”

He said a ban could lead to a week or two of declines in American stockpiles, with refineries and traders displacing Russian oil from elsewhere.

This will temporarily increase prices at the pump, Mr. Lynch added, but if the crisis continues these prices will likely still rise.

Russia has a hard time exporting its oil, even without the American embargo. The price of Russian flagship Ural crude oil fell as global refineries halted oil purchases from the country. Banks, insurance companies and tanker fleets refuse to finance and transport Russian crude for fear of tightening sanctions. And the threat that war may escalate makes shipping oil and other goods in the Black Sea increasingly dangerous.

None of this stopped Republican lawmakers from pressing Mr. Biden to open the local drilling. They used this both to bring Putin to his knees and to seize an economic opportunity at home.

“Never in the history of war have we had the chance to deal such a decisive blow,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said at a news conference Wednesday. “Let’s strike that blow. If the Ukrainians can counter a tank, if a grandmother can buy a rifle, thank God we can produce more oil and gas.”

American oil producers have slowly increased production in recent months, adding a large number of new rigs to drill for oil and gas, particularly in the Permian Basin that connects Texas and New Mexico. But oil production remains below pre-pandemic 2019 levels, which slowed the economy and energy exploration and production.

Under pressure from investors, oil managers have in the past refrained from raising production much higher as such moves flooded the market and lowered commodity prices. Instead, oil executives repurchased shares to raise their share prices, while returning their last profits to shareholders as incremental dividends.

A strong proponent of this strategy has been Scott D. Sheffield, CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, one of the Permian Basin’s leading producers. In an interview on Thursday, he slightly changed his position in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Sheffield said his company still plans to increase production at a modest 5 percent a year over the next few years. “But if there is a coordinated effort by all western countries to ban Russia’s oil and gas exports, we will join in helping Europe to increase our production in the next two to three years.”

However, he warned such efforts would take time, and he noted that the industry was hampered by labor shortages and the sand required for the hydraulic fracturing process used to extract gas from hard shales. “Once you add a rig, it takes six months to get your first drop of oil out,” he added.

The United States currently produces about 12 million barrels of oil a day, that’s about 60 percent of national demand, and is currently a net exporter of both oil and natural gas.

Michael D. Scissors contributing reporting.