U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced a new plan to strengthen oversight and cracking down on oil market manipulation, the White House's latest move to tackle gasoline spike.

Obama urged the U.S. Congress to heighten federal supervision of oil markets, increase penalties for market manipulation and empower regulators to improve the amount of money energy traders are required to put behind their transactions.

Under the plan, Obama proposed a ten-fold increase in maximum civil and criminal penalties for manipulative activity in oil futures markets.

The president also wanted the Congress to pass an immediate increase in funding to support at least a six-fold increase in the surveillance and enforcement staff for oil futures market trading at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Meanwhile, the U.S. government would take new actions to better analyze and investigate trading activities in energy markets.

"Things that we can do administratively, we are doing. And I call on Congress to pass a package of measures to crack down on illegal activity," said Obama at a White House press conference.

The fresh move by the White House is considered as a response to Republicans' criticism against Obama on energy policy. During the current election season, energy is emerging as a touch issue between the two parties. Recently, Republicans have criticized Obama for his conservative energy policy and having "no fix" to gas prices spike.