With the fallout from the subprime mortgage meltdown still reverberating through the economy, few would dispute the importance of the housing legislation that began moving through Congress this week. But while legislators focus on Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration, many of their constituents are telling pollsters they're more concerned about high fuel costs.

Rising gas prices topped the list of issues Americans say are hurting the economy, according to a Gallup survey conducted last week, and two in five of those polled said the issue had reached "crisis" levels. One in five said gas prices have created hardships for them and their families.

A nationwide poll from WNBC and Marist finds similar results: Gas prices again ranked at the top of the list when pollsters asked what caused respondents the most economic grief. Four in five said the high costs had strained their family budget, and well over half said it had done so "a great deal." On average, respondents predicted that the cost of a gallon of gasoline would be over $4 by Memorial Day.

Not surprisingly, those frustrations translated into calls for political action. When Gallup posed an open-ended question asking people name an issue or two that Congress and President Bush should be addressing, one in five respondents named high gas costs. (General mentions of the economy were the most common response.)

Their message seems to have penetrated the Beltway. In National Journal's most recent congressional insiders poll, majorities from both sides of the aisle said their parties hadn't done enough to address the issue of rising gas prices.

About three-fifths of insiders from each party said they could be doing more, although they cited different reasons. Some Democrats pointed to Iraq: "We need to invest as much money as we will spend in Iraq this year to develop alternative energy sources," said one Democrat. Republicans were more likely to blame the majority party: "All efforts have been blocked, but we have not made enough noise about it," explained one.

The cost of gas is only one facet of discontent with the economy as a whole, and public opinion has been trending steadily downhill since the beginning of the year, according to Gallup's daily tracker on the subject. On Thursday, the poll hit a new low for the year -- suggesting that calls for government intervention to ease the burdens on ordinary Americans won't go away soon.