DENVER -- Rep. Mark Udall, (D-Colorado), announced a plan Tuesday designed to lower prices at the pumps.

"Gas prices are high, they're hurting people, and they're hurting businesses," Udall said during a satellite interview with 7NEWS.

Udall said part of his plan includes calling upon the federal government to stop buying oil for its emergency stockpile. The government reserve, called the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, is about 97 percent full, according to Udall.

"We've done it in the past under the leadership of President (Bill) Clinton and the current President (George W.) Bush, we saw an immediate drop in price in the range from 15 to 25 cents a gallon," Udall said.

The plan doesn't have the same effect as the gas tax holiday supported by Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain, according to Udall.

While both presidential candidates viewed suspending the federal gas tax as a way to reduce gas prices for consumers over the summer, Udall said the plan will take away from highway construction budgets and affect jobs.

Sen. Barack Obama rejected the gas tax holiday, calling it a "Washington gimmick."

Udall said putting a stop to filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve can make a real difference to Coloradans before summer arrives.

"This has the effect of putting 40,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil in to the market on a daily basis. We'd see some immediate relief," Udall said.

Oil industry experts like Colorado Oil Petroleum Association president Stan Dempsey Jr. said there is no one quick fix.

"Politicians are responding to their constituents plea for help," Dempsey told 7NEWS reporter Lane Lyon.

Dempsey said the real issue is "federal monetary policy" and pointed to the weakened U.S. dollar, crude oil prices and supply and demand as key factors in the fuel hikes.

With demand for oil and gas high around the world, it's hard to predict when prices will improve, Dempsey said, although prices have tended to level off or decrease slightly after Memorial Day according to past years.

Udall said he plans to "join several colleagues in writing to President Bush, urging him to order a temporary suspension of Strategic Petroleum Reserve purchases to help lower demand."