In a perfect example of “grandstanding,” Congress is conducting yet another investigation of the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.

Now that baseball has so belatedly begun investigating and regulating itself, Congress sees an opportunity to avoid many of our most serious national issues by making a play for headlines, holding hearings on matters already brought to light in the Mitchell Report.

And what better headline grabber than baseball’s most celebrated pitcher, Roger Clemens. Fans have long loved Clemens when he pitched for their team and hated him when he was pitching against them. New York fans remember the famous feud between Clemens of the Yankees and Mike Piazza of the Mets.

But the current round of Congressional hearings seems more designed to get Clemens to commit perjury than to prevent the use of steroids or HGH (human growth hormones).

Major League Baseball, the Players Association, Congress, and yes, all too many fans, sat on the sidelines cheering as home run records fell by the handful in the years following the 1994 baseball strike. They all ignored the incredible new size and strength of many players.

Since then, a lot of new rules have reduced the potential for this drug abuse, as have numerous criminal investigations, public outcry and the Mitchell Report itself.

Meanwhile, Congress has failed to find answers for the continuing war in Iraq, healthcare, immigration reform and the mortgage foreclosure crisis. These are certainly issues that grab headlines, but Congress seems to have little to offer in the way of solutions.

If Congress feels compelled to act on the topic of steroid abuse in sports, it should find a way to make sure high school athletes don’t have access to the drugs as well as supporting efforts to teach how dangerous these substances are.

In the meantime, Congress should be spending time on the many daunting issues our nation faces. More than a few members of Congress should find ways to enhance their own performances.

John M. Reilly is the executive director of the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation and a longtime community activist.