WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling as U.S. drivers struggle with higher fuel prices.

Images: Oil Drilling Debate Renews Along California Coast

By itself, the move will not lead to more drilling off America's coastline.

Congress must still lift its own legislative ban before offshore drilling can happen. Individual tastes would also have to approve drilling.

So far, lawmakers have shown no interest in doing so.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by the first President Bush in 1990.

The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.

"The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress," Bush said in a statement in the Rose Garden. "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court."

Bush criticized Congress for failing to lift its own ban on offshore drilling.

"Failure to act is unacceptable," Bush said.

"And now Americans are paying at the pump," he declared.

Bush has earned sharp criticism from Democrats like Barbara Boxer, to environmentalists nationwide, who said that oil companies already have hundreds of unexplored off-shore oil leases that could be pumped right now. Boxer said the action will do nothing to lower gas prices for Americans.

"This proposal is something you'd expect from an oil company CEO, not the President of the United States," Boxer said in a statement. "The President is taking special-interest government to a new level and threatening our thriving coastal economy, worth $70 billion and almost two million jobs. The President didn't follow his father's policy on Iraq and now he's not following his father's policy on offshore oil drilling. Ironically, the result will be less pressure on the oil companies to produce on the leases they already hold."

"Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil." Nancy Pelosi, D-Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi, D-Speaker of the House, unleashed a torrent of criticism at the Administration.

"Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil," she said. "The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas."

Other congressional Democrats and even some GOP lawmakers from coastal states have opposed lifting the prohibition that has barred energy companies from waters along both the East and West coasts and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reiterated his opposition to offshore oil drilling.

"I know people are frustrated with the soaring price of gas, and I welcome the national debate on solutions to lower our energy costs, but in California we know offshore drilling is not the answer," he said. "We will continue to foster a market for alternative energies because choice is the only way we will ultimately bring down fuel costs."

A succession of presidents, from Bush's father -- George H.W. Bush -- to Bill Clinton, have sided against drilling in these waters, as has Congress each year for 27 years. Their goal has to been to protect beaches and coastal states' tourism economies.

"President Bush has once again ignored the wise precedent set by his father and taken reckless action that has neither hope of reducing gas prices nor concern for long-term consequences," said Gene Karpinski, president of The League of Conservation Voters.

Asked if Bush's action alone will lead to more oil drilling, White House press secretary Dana Perino said, "In terms of allowing more exploration to go forward? No, it does not."

The president, in his final months of office, has turned to increased oil exploration among other options amid record gas-prices. None would have immediate impact on prices at the pump, according to White House officials, who say there is no quick fix. But starting action now would help, they say.

Bush's proposal echoes a call by Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, to open the Outer Continental Shelf for exploration. Democrat Barack Obama has opposed the idea and instead argued for helping consumers with a second economic stimulus package including energy rebates, as well as stepped up efforts to develop alternative fuels and more fuel-efficient automobiles.

"If offshore drilling would provide short-term relief at the pump or a long-term strategy for energy independence, it would be worthy of our consideration, regardless of the risks," spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "But most experts, even within the Bush administration, concede it would do neither. It would merely prolong the failed energy policies we have seen from Washington for 30 years."

Congressional Democrats have rejected the push to lift the drilling moratorium, accusing the president of hoping the U.S. can drill its way out a problem.

Bush says offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start. Bush also says offshore drilling would take pressure off prices over time. In addition, the president has proposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling, lifting restrictions on oil shale leasing in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and easing the regulatory process to expand oil refining capacity.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other lawmakers have backed legislation to allow offshore exploration. Their measure would pursue other ways to expand energy sources, too.

"Now the only thing standing between consumers at the pump and the increased American energy they are demanding is the Democrat leadership in Congress," McConnell said. "We should act and act now."