House Republicans are once again targeting the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards on home appliances, setting up floor votes on a pair of bills that would roll back regulations on refrigerators and dishwashers.
Iowa Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ “Refrigerator Freedom Act,” H.R. 7637, and New York Republican Nick Langworthy’s “Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act,” H.R. 7700, would bar DOE from implementing or enforcing new efficiency rules if they are not “cost-effective or technologically feasible” and do not result in “significant conservation of energy.”
“If it is not stopped, the administration’s plans will impose burdensome and costly efficiency mandates for virtually every appliance in your home,” said House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) at a recent hearing.
“These bills would prohibit the secretary of Energy from imposing new efficiency mandates or enforcing existing standards unless they pass a simple three-part test.”