WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives voted on May 7 to forbid the Secretary of Energy from implementing energy-saving regulations for products that are not plausible or justifiable technologically or economically.
The bill exemplifies part of the pushback from Republicans against what they see as the Biden administration excessively regulating certain appliances including gas stoves.
The Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act, introduced by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), passed 212–195 with seven Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor of it.
It would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to achieve that objective. The bill goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it is likely dead on arrival.
Additionally, it would not allow the secretary to execute energy conservation standards resulting in the usefulness of products such as urinals, faucets, and shower heads.
“The Department of Energy has unleashed an avalanche of new regulations for domestic items including stoves, dishwashers, washing machines, showers, toilets, water heaters, air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces,” Ms. Lesko said at a press conference on May 7.
“No government bureaucrat should scheme to ever take away Americans’ appliances in the name of a radical environmental agenda.”
Ahead of the vote, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) told The Epoch Times that “the administration’s proposals to make all our appliances much more expensive, greener are bad.”
However, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told The Epoch Times that the bill is a waste of time.
“It’s Republicans playing more games and not recognizing what we should prioritize, which is the American people,” she said.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) concurred with Ms. Crockett and said it is “just a messaging bill and very frustrating that we have many things we ought to be doing, including the FAA reauthorization” and “serious things” like addressing the border.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) mocked the bill.
“We did Ukraine aid, then we did Israeli aid, then we did humanitarian aid and now we’re gonna do Kitchen Aid,” he told The Epoch Times. “So that’s great.”
But Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative Congressional caucus, said the bill is about enabling consumer choices.
In April the House passed a $95 billion package that included aid to Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and forcing TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company.
The White House came out against The Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act. It said the move would “undermine the ability of the Department of Energy to lower consumer costs while improving appliance efficiency.”
Additionally, the White House said the bill would undermine domestic production of appliances.
“Backsliding on standards would allow the importation of lower-efficiency foreign products, disadvantaging domestic manufacturers who plan in advance to deliver efficient products to American consumers,” it said.
Finally, said the White House, while the bill “would expand consumer choice in the home appliance market, it would only increase consumer costs and create uncertainty for appliance manufacturers.”
