President Bush turned up the heat on congressional Democrats on Monday by lifting an executive order barring offshore oil and gas drilling off almost 90 percent of U.S. coastlines. But Democrats remain focused on other energy issues such as unused oil leases and financial speculation.

The Bush announcement — ending the moratorium that the president’s father expanded to most coastal waters 18 years ago — puts new political pressure on Congress, which would have to lift a statutory ban before waters on the outer continental shelf could be opened to energy exploration.

“Now the ball is squarely in Congress’ court,” Bush said. “Today I’ve taken every step in my power to allow offshore oil exploration. ... All that remains is for Democratic leaders in Congress to allow a vote.”

With gasoline prices continuing a steady rise, Republicans have intensified their calls for more offshore drilling in the face of polls that show growing public support. Republicans claim Democratic leaders are trying to hold off votes on drilling out of fears that some members are shifting positions.

House and Senate Democratic leaders plan to bring energy legislation to the floor this week, using procedural tactics designed to block Republicans from offering amendments that would lift the drilling ban.

In the Senate, Democrats hope to take up as early as Wednesday a still-undrafted bill that would tighten regulation of speculation in energy futures, which some lawmakers contend adds as much as 30 percent to the price of crude oil.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would block any effort to propose amendments to the bill that did not deal directly with the speculation issue.

Reid acknowledged he did not know whether he would have the votes to block a Republican drilling amendment.

“What I want to do is do a straight up-or-down attack on speculation,” Reid said. “There’ll be lots of opportunities to do other things.”

Republicans complained that Reid is trying to duck the issue. “Does it seem to you, like it does to me, that Harry Reid is scared, chicken, to have a vote?” said Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, ranking Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Meanwhile, House leaders plan to bring to the floor this week a package of energy legislation centered on their proposal to force energy companies holding oil and gas leases to surrender any they are not using. A so-called use-it-or-lose-it bill (HR 6251) failed on June 26, 223-195, under a procedure that requires a two-thirds vote.

Democratic leaders plan to bring up their retooled bill under the same procedure, known as suspension of the rules, because it limits debate and precludes amendments. That would frustrate GOP efforts to add an amendment lifting the drilling ban.

House Democrats also have effectively frozen movement on appropriations bills, including the Interior-Environment spending bill that has been the vehicle for extending the statutory moratorium on drilling off most of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Republicans claim the Democrats are trying to avoid a debate over rolling back the moratorium.

While expanding offshore drilling has long been a tenet of Republican energy, even GOP-controlled Congresses could not succeed in lifting the statutory moratorium. Since Bush’s father was president, there have been parallel executive moratoriums on opening most areas off the U.S. shores to energy exploration.

Democrats have generally opposed expanding offshore oil and gas drilling, citing environmental concerns. They also say that it would take years for new offshore production to come online and that it would do nothing to ease gasoline prices today.

But Republican leaders think the high energy prices and shifting poll numbers can sway more than the handful of oil-patch Democrats who have previously backed an expansion of offshore drilling.

“There’s any number of Democrats who support expanded production,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ra?`Ohio. “I certainly expect that there are some. But it’s difficult to say without getting votes.”

Jack Gerard, president of the American Chemistry Council, said he has seen “movement” by Democrats. The industry group backs expanded offshore drilling.

“For those of us who’ve been in the trenches for years on this, we’re seeing the ground beginning to shift and quake,” he said.

Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the White House move makes no difference.

“It’s symbolic,” he said. “If the president wanted to take a real action, he could release a small amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would have an effect in a matter of days, instead of years.”

Catharine Richert and Kathleen Hunter contributed to this story.