That’s what the Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday when it approved a bill that would amend the Sherman antitrust act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal.

But don’t look for prices at the pump to drop just yet on that news.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., has introduced his “NOPEC Act” (S 879) three times since 2000, and it has yet to make it through a vote by the full chamber.

Still, you never know, Kohl says, especially given the continued griping about gas prices and increased tensions with OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.

“The price of crude oil dances to the tune set by OPEC members. Such blatantly anti-competitive conduct by the oil cartel violates the most basic principles of fair competition and free markets and should not be tolerated,” Kohl said in a floor speech.

Under the bill, the attorney general could take oil-producing foreign countries to court for manipulating supplies and fixing prices. In the past, Republican and Democratic administrations have frowned on that prospect out of concern it might irritate oil-exporting allies such as Saudi Arabia.

The bill would also likely be challenged under World Trade Organization rules.