"Democrats want to jumpstart America's stalled energy strategy," Cantwell said on the Democrats' Saturday radio address.

She said conservation and efficiency, mainly through lightweight materials and alternative fuels, can lead the country to energy independence by 2020.

"We can ask Americans to sacrifice," she said. "We can ask Americans to conserve. We can ask Americans to innovate and to invest in new technologies. We just can't ask them to accept the status quo."

Cantwell called for an "end to the huge tax breaks for big oil" and to replace them with incentives for energy efficiencies in vehicles.

"In the short-term, Congress needs to protect consumers and pass a new law by Memorial Day to make price-gouging a federal crime," she said. "Democrats believe that supply and demand are basic forces that guide our economy but even those forces demand real transparency to make sure that markets are functioning the way they're supposed to."