(NAFB) – The price of oil has increased more than six-fold since the low point early in the pandemic.

The Washington Post says oil prices haven’t been this high since the financial crisis of 2008. Prices continued higher on Monday as fears the United States and its allies in Europe are considering possible bans on imports of Russian crude. The White House said last Friday that it’s weighing a ban on imports of Russian oil. The possibility is officially before Congress as West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski introduced a bill that would ban American imports of Russian oil.

U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pressuring the White House to hit Russian President Vladimir Putin where it hurts the most by imposing sanctions on Russia’s massive energy sector. “I’m all for that,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi during a recent press conference. “Ban it.”