In response to the Biden administration’s proposed new energy efficiency standards for washing machines, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) introduced an appropriations amendment that would prevent the Department of Energy (DOE) from enforcing the proposal.
Moolenaar called his amendment a win for consumer choice.
“My amendment is a win for clean clothes, consumer choice, and stopping another burdensome regulation from the Biden administration,” Moolenaar said
in a statement released from his office on June 22.
“When our country moved from typewriters to personal computers, we did not need rules from the executive branch forcing typewriters from the market,” Moolenaar added. “Yet, the Department of Energy has proposed regulations on washing machines that would push affordable options for Michigan families out of the market while making it harder to wash clothes.”
Moolenaar’s amendment (
pdf) says, “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to finalize, implement, administer, apply, or enforce the proposed rule entitled ‘Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Clothes Washers’ published by the Department of Energy in the Federal Register on March 3, 2023.”
The House Appropriations Committee
adopted Moolenaar’s amendment following a voice vote on June 22. The amendment was added to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies spending bill, which was passed on the same day following a 34–24 vote.
Earlier this year, the DOE announced that washing machines would be required to use
considerably less water to “confront the global climate crisis.”
The DOE
noted that “maintaining acceptable cleaning performance can be more difficult as energy and water levels are reduced.” Still, the department added that machine performances, such as stain removal, would not be compromised by complying with its regulations.
‘Radical Agenda’
In March, some Republican lawmakers took to Twitter to criticize the DOE’s proposed washing machine regulations.
“Biden’s DOE is pushing a new ‘washing machine rule’ that would make cycles longer, detergent more expensive, & clothes less clean,” Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) wrote. “Prices for everything are skyrocketing, yet the Biden Admin continues to try to make it worse with their radical agenda.”
“Biden’s big government needs to stop worrying about gas stoves or washing machines and start getting our nation’s economy back on track,” wrote Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.).
The House recently passed two gas stove bills. On June 13, the
Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act was passed following a
248-180 vote, which would bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from regulating gas stoves as a banned hazardous product.
A day later, the
Save Our Gas Stoves Act was passed after a 249-181 vote, which would block the DOE’s proposed efficiency rule on gas stoves and similar appliances.
In May, New York became
the first state to ban natural gas stoves after the state Assembly approved the new $229 billion state budget. The ban also includes furnaces and propane heating in favor of heat pumps and electric stoves.
The same month, the DOE proposed new efficiency standards
for new dishwashers to cut greenhouse gases. The proposal aims to cut energy use by 27 percent and water use by 34 percent in new conventional household dishwashers made in or imported into the United States.
