House Republicans are resisting the urge to do the &uot;quick-fix&uot; solution to soaring gas prices. And rightly so. Key Republicans are easing off the notion of suspending a 4.3-cent-a-gallon gas tax begun in 1993. Cutting the tax — known as the &uot;Gore tax&uot; because Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-breaking vote in 1993 — is perfect political fodder.

If they wanted to, GOP members could certainly win some, albeit short-lived, political gain by cutting the tax during an election year.

And it isn’t easy for them to resist the pressure as prices at the pumps are approaching $2 per gallon in some places.

The ever-increasing prices have folks from all walks of life fuming.

From soccer moms in their mini-vans and SUVs to truckers hauling loads on the interstates, anyone who has filled up their vehicle’s tank lately has felt the jolt.

Suspending the gas tax would ease the pain of those fill ups, but only in the short term.

Axing the tax temporarily will not address the ultimate factor causing the situation — a lack of gasoline on the market.

The entire federal gas and diesel tax, which totals 18.4 cents per gallon, provides some $7.2 billion in highway funding each year.

What we need isn’t to chop the tax in a knee-jerk reaction to the problem. U.S. economic leaders need to double their efforts to get OPEC countries to increase the supply and work to improve the oil supplies in our own backyard as well.

Congress needs to keep the politics in Washington and focus on solving the problem rather than clouding the issue.