Aug. 2 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush criticized Democrats in Congress for not acting on his proposal to open more domestic land to oil drilling, saying lawmakers should revisit the issue when they return from their August recess.

``Democratic leaders are leaving town without taking any action to ease the burden of high gas prices,'' Bush said in his weekly radio broadcast. ``If Congress does not act, they will owe families across America an explanation for why they're ignoring their concerns.''

Rising energy costs threaten to slow consumer spending, weakening economic growth and raising concern about inflation in Bush's final months in office. The Labor Department yesterday said the country's unemployment rate in July rose to 5.7 percent, the highest since March 2004.

``High energy prices are making this a difficult time for many citizens,'' Bush said in the address.

Bush spent the months leading up to the five-week congressional break pressing lawmakers to lift restrictions on offshore oil drilling and develop oil-shale sources in the Rocky Mountain states. The U.S. Interior Department estimates the areas now off-limits may hold 17.8 billion barrels of oil.

Democrats say Bush's plan would endanger the environment and other options are available. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has challenged the president to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and has pressed oil companies to drill on 68 million acres of federal land they already lease from the government.

Polls this year have shown more public support for expanded domestic oil exploration as the price of gasoline has jumped. With Congress unlikely to agree on an energy plan, Republicans are making clear drilling will be a pivotal topic in the election campaign.

``The high price of gas is taking a toll on summer travelers,'' Bush said. ``The sooner Congress lifts the ban, the sooner we can get this oil from beneath the ocean floor to your gas tank.''

The price of crude oil is up about 63 percent from a year ago, and retail gasoline is 40 percent more costly.

To contact the reporter on this story: Holly Rosenkrantz in Washington at hrosenkrantz@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 2, 2008 10:06 EDT