House Republicans are once again targeting the Department of Energy’s efficiency standards on home appliances, with a floor vote planned this week on a bill that would roll back regulations on washing machines.
Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles’ “Liberty in Laundry Act,” H.R. 7673, would bar DOE from implementing or enforcing new efficiency rules on washing machines 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 hearing earlier this year.
“[The bill] would prohibit the secretary of Energy from imposing new efficiency mandates or enforcing existing standards unless they pass a simple three-part test,” she added.
