It's official: The U.S. House of Representatives is against high gas prices.

That collective stamp of the foot may feel satisfying in these days of pain at the pump. But Congress' move this week to pass a bill declaring price-gouging a federal crime ultimately will not do much to drive down the price.

The bill itself is not a done deal. The Senate won't take it up until it deals with immigration legislation next month. Even in the unlikely event the measure makes it into law, making a charge of price-gouging stick is an elusive goal.

It eluded this state, anyway, in the late 1990s, when the administration of then-Gov. Ben Cayetano filed a $2 billion anti-trust lawsuit against divisions of Chevron, Shell, Texaco, Unocal and Tosco. In 1999, however, a $20 million settlement was reached, with the companies admitting to no wrongdoing.

The suit did spotlight the companies' high-profit margins, revelations that fueled the later push for gas pricing controls. In the end, lawmakers abandoned these, too.

The Federal Trade Commission also looked into potential anti-trust violations on a national scale over the years but has concluded that a variety of factors have contributed to spikes in gas prices.

The law seeks to extend the FTC reach by making it illegal for companies to take "unfair advantage" or charge "unconscionably excessive" prices for gasoline and other fuels.

The trouble with that is that nobody knows precisely what would trigger a criminal charge under such a law.

A more productive use of Congressional time would be to focus on reducing this nation's reliance on fossil fuels. And a commuter resolve to use less gas might moderate prices, although there seems little sign of cutbacks during this long holiday weekend.

In the end, that "pain at the pump" remains the best incentive to push consumers toward transportation alternatives — hybrid cars, renewable fuels — that would be kinder to both the environment and the consumer wallet.