(NationRise.com) – Last week, the House of Representatives passed two bills designed to block the Biden administration from regulating home appliances in such a way that homeowners could be forced to pay for expensive replacements. The first of the two bills, the Refrigerator Freedom Act, would restrict the Biden administration’s Energy secretary – or any Energy secretary in the future – from enforcing new energy conservation regulations relating to freezers and refrigerators if those standards would be neither technologically feasible nor cost-effective.
The bill, which passed in a 212-192 vote, earned the support of seven Democrats. The wording of the legislation will make it difficult for any Energy secretary, should the legislation ultimately be passed, to make the case for new rules. It follows years of claims by the Energy Department that improving energy efficiency standards would save households on operating costs in the future. Critics of the government’s plans, however, have argued that the regulations would increase the cost of these devices over time, impact consumer choice, and exceed the authority of the agency.
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa issued a statement in the wake of the passing of the legislation arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy since 2021 have repeatedly exceeded their power in an effort to “limit consumer choice.”
The second piece of legislation passed by the House, the Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act, also passed 214-192 with the support of seven Democrats. The legislation aimed to do precisely the same thing as the Refrigerator Freedom Act, but for consumer dishwashers.
Bill sponsor Rep. Nicholas Langworthy, a Republican representing New York, also issued a statement arguing that unelected bureaucrats working for the Biden administration have “twisted” existing law to serve a “radical environmental agenda.”
In the statement, Langworthy also argued that proposed dishwasher efficiency standards from the Department of Energy would substantially reduce the amount of water that the appliances were allowed to use, along with the amount of energy, meaning dishwashers were less effective and more expensive at the same time.
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