The House passed a pair of bills that would block stricter energy standards for dishwashers and refrigerators as part of the GOP’s battle against President Biden’s push for more regulations of home appliances.
The Refrigerator Freedom Act and Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act would prevent the Department of Energy from finalizing or enforcing efficiency standards on dishwashers and fridges that “are not cost-effective or technologically feasible.”
The measures would also prevent the Energy Department from applying regulations unless they result in “significant conservation of energy,” and if the agency finds that the standards will not increase costs on consumers.
All Republicans and a handful of Democrats passed both the dishwasher bill by Rep. Nick Langworthy, New York Republican, and the refrigerator bill from Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa Republican.
Mr. Biden opposes the bills and they are likely dead on arrival in the Democrat-run Senate.
Republicans argued that the standards would yield little to no savings in utility bills and drastically increase the cost of buying appliances, adding to the already steep costs ushered in by inflation. Mr. Langworthy said that his bill would slow the Biden administration’s “relentless assault” on consumers with mountains of regulations.
“By stripping away consumer choice and imposing draconian new regulations and standards that make absolutely no sense from an affordability and efficiency standpoint, this administration is making life harder for the American people,” Mr. Langworthy said.
Ms. Miller-Meeks said that the two bills were meant to force the Energy Department to actually follow the law.
“We want to codify that into law, why would you oppose codifying that into law if the agency is already doing that? The reality is they aren’t doing it,” she said. “Their practices are egregious and overreaching and they want to force themselves into every aspect of our lives and dictate them.”
The White House came out strongly against the bills but stopped short of a veto threat. In a statement of administration policy on Monday, the White House said that the measures would “add vague, red-herring provisions” that would create uncertainty around applying regulations in future updates to efficiency standards.
Both sets of standards from the Biden administration are part of a broader swath of stricter energy regulations from the administration that the Energy Department projected to save roughly $1 trillion in consumer savings over the next three decades.
Full compliance under the dishwasher and refrigerator standards would not kick in until the end of the decade, according to the Energy Department, and combined would save consumers nearly $40 billion over the next 30 years.
Meanwhile, Democrats argued that the bills would have the opposite effect, and would add burdensome language to the efficiency standard-making process while increasing the average energy costs for consumers.
They also contend that Congress had much better things to do than fight for “refrigerator freedom,” and that the House already passed a bill related to home appliances, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act, earlier this year.
That bill would force the Energy Department to consider the cost-effectiveness of any new policy standards, like any updates affecting home appliances that would hit low-income families, and would demand that the agency consider the lifetime costs of those appliances before issuing new standards.
Democrats also spent much of the debate on the bills making a mockery of both measures.
“We’re not in Home Depot, we’re in the House of Representatives,” said Rep. James McGovern, Massachusetts Democrat.