WASHINGTON, April 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack  Obama announced an initiative Tuesday to strike at manipulation in the oil  market.

"We can't afford a situation where some speculators makes millions while  millions of Americans get the short end of the stick," Obama told reporters in  the White House Rose Garden.

Among the steps in the administration's proposal, "more cops on the beat to  monitor activity in energy markets," an increase in civil and criminal penalties  for manipulation and a requirement to have a greater margin -- more money -- to  back up trading in oil futures, Obama said.