Talk about out of touch with the American people. The GOP has been in charge for 185 days and still hasn’t passed a single jobs bill. So what do they have slated for first thing next week? A bill that would not only roll back bipartisan energy efficiency standards but would cost American consumers $12 billion in savings per year, when fully implemented.
Stunning.
In a move that could be called anything but conservative, Republican lawmakers are set to bring a bill to the House floor next week that will repeal state and municipal rights to set efficiency standards for light bulbs. The bill would unravel a piece of federal legislation that was strongly supported by light bulb manufacturers and has spurred innovation in the lighting industry…
The bill, sponsored by Texas Republican Joe Barton, would strip away any “federal, state or local requirement or standard regarding energy efficient lighting” that uses light bulbs containing mercury. In other words, all compact fluorescent bulbs…
“When this bill was passed, it was passed by people who knew how to make light bulbs,” says Randall Moorhead, vice president of government affairs at Philips, a leading light bulb producer.
“Everyone supported it. And since then, it’s created more choice for consumers – we have two incandescent bulbs on the market that weren’t there before.”…“We support the notion that efficiency is a desirable thing, and this type of standard has been a part of our body politic for a long time,” says Moorhead of Philips. “The reality is, consumers will see no difference at all. The only difference they’ll see is lower energy bills because we’re creating more efficient incandescent bulbs.”…
If just a third of the 4.4 billion medium screw-based light sockets around the country were replaced with new, efficient incandescent light bulbs, one third with compact fluorescents and one third with LED bulbs, the annual savings could be more than $12 billion a year, says Moorhead.
“The economics work out extremely well for the consumer,” he explains.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Friday defended a series of light bulb efficiency standards that are coming under attack from House Republicans.
The standards, Chu said on a conference call, do not ban traditional incandescent bulbs, as many Republicans have alleged. Instead, they require that the bulbs become more energy efficient.
“I want to take this opportunity to dispel a myth,” Chu said. “These standards do not ban incandescent bulbs.”
The standards, which were passed as part of a landmark 2007 energy law, require that incandescent bulbs be 30 percent more energy efficient beginning in 2012.
“You’re still going to be able to buy halogen incandescent bulbs,” Chu said. “They’ll look exactly like the ones you’re used to. They can dim. They cut out instantly. They look and feel the same. The only difference is they will help American consumers save money.”…
The 2007 light bulb efficiency standards were approved by Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law by President George W. Bush. But Republicans have targeted the standards in recent months as an example of government overreach…
But former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) came to the defense of the standards Friday on the conference call with Chu…
“If we begin now to block sections here and there, we’re going to lose momentum,” he said. “We’ll be dropping backwards in America’s need to become more energy efficient.”