On the House Floor: H.R. 6192 to reform the Energy Policy Conservation Act

The Biden administration is waging war on American energy, and this war is making its way into Americans’ homes. President Biden and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm are sacrificing peoples’ ability to purchase affordable and reliable products for their homes in their pursuit of a radical rush-to-green agenda.

Housing prices and utility bills are already too high for Americans, but that isn’t stopping the administration from continuing to impose burdensome regulations. Since taking office, the Biden administration has been attacking common and popular household appliances in the name of “energy efficiency.”

In fact, last year the Biden administration proposed a ban on gas stoves as part of its war against fossil fuels. More recently, the DOE has announced plans to regulate washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and more, which is forcing people to spend more for less reliable options.

Even worse, these new regulations fail to accomplish their stated goals as they will NOT save a significant amount of energy and are NOT cost-effective. For example, the DOE’s own analysis finds that efficiency mandates on dishwashers could increase the upfront cost by 28% and it could take consumers 12 years to payback the increased costs on a product that may only last 7-12 years.   

This comes at a time when Americans are already being crushed by rising costs thanks to Bidenflation. By continuing to double down on policies like these, the Biden administration is showing just how out of touch they are with the financial struggles the vast majority of Americans are feeling.

In contrast, House Republicans are leading to protect Americans from federal mandates that result in minimal energy savings while significantly driving up costs.

Today, the House will consider H.R. 6192, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act, led by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), to preserve the affordability, availability, and quality of the household appliances Americans rely on every day.

Here’s why H.R. 6192 is important:

Enacted in 1975, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) provides specific criteria the DOE must follow in order to propose a new appliance efficiency standard. The DOE may only propose a new standard if it results in a significant conservation of energy, is technologically feasible, and economically justified.

The Biden administration has consistently ignored these critical consumer protections by proposing and finalizing standards that violate the statute. H.R. 6192 would prevent this abuse by:

• Eliminating unnecessary and duplicative rulemaking requirements 
• Authorizing the Secretary of Energy to amend or revoke a standard if it increases costs for consumers, does not result in significant energy or water savings, is not technologically feasible, or results in the unavailability of product 
• Protecting affordability by requiring the DOE to consider the cost to low-income households and the full-life cycle cost of appliances when determining if the new standard is economically justified 
• Establishing minimum thresholds for energy or water savings that must be achieved before imposing new standards 
• Prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from banning products based on what type of fuel that product uses (no natural gas bans) 

Bottomline: At a time when the American people are struggling under the crushing weight of Bidenflation, the last thing they need is more government mandates that drive up costs and fail to achieve their stated mission.