A handful of House Democrats have joined Republicans on a bill aimed at blocking the Biden administration’s new energy efficiency standards for refrigerators and dishwashers.
The “Repeal Expensive Dishwasher Standards Act” by Rep. Nick Langworthy of New York and the “Refrigerator Freedom Act” by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa were passed along party lines on Tuesday night.
Seven House Democrats voted in favor of each bill. The dishwasher bill passed 214-192 with no Republican opposition. The refrigerator bill passed 212-192 with one Republican opposed.
House Republicans said both bills aim to prohibit the Secretary of Energy from establishing and enforcing “energy efficiency standards for residential refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers that are neither technically feasible nor economically justifiable.”
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House Republicans are moving to roll back Biden administration standards for dishwashers and refrigerators. (Getty Images)
It would also block regulations that don’t lead to “significant energy savings.”
During Tuesday’s debate on the bill, Langworthy accused the Biden administration’s Department of Energy of waging a “relentless assault on efficient, affordable and reliable appliances for ordinary Americans.”
The Department of Energy said proposed new dishwasher rules could save Americans $652 million on their energy bills and cut water use by dishwashers by more than a quarter.
But House Republicans argued that “the Department of Energy’s own analysis showed that efficiency mandates could increase upfront costs by 28 percent and that it could take consumers 12 years to recoup the increased costs on products with lifespans of only seven to 12 years.”
Rep. Frank Pallone, D-Jersey, argued that the Republican calculations are outdated and relate to previous rules during debate on the bill, arguing that the payback period for dishwashers under the new standards is 3.9 years.
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Rep. Nick Langworthy introduced the Dishwasher Policy Bill. (Getty Images)
According to the Department of Energy, new rules for residential refrigerators and freezers proposed earlier this year would save consumers more than $36 billion over 30 years.
But House Republicans similarly pointed to a Department of Energy projection that found “efficiency mandates could increase upfront costs by 25 percent and could take consumers 10 years to recoup the increased costs on products that only last 14 to 15 years.”
This is part of a broader legislative strategy by House Republicans to oppose climate-friendly regulatory plans being pursued by the Department of Energy under President Biden.
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The debate over the dishwasher bill became heated briefly Monday afternoon, when Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., and Rep. Geoff Duncan, D-Lausanne, Calif., sparred about their knowledge of dishwashers.
“This bill is stupid. It’s an example of Congress at its worst,” Porter said during a spirited debate. “We have people who have never even put dishes out of a dishwasher telling the American people what dishwashers they should and shouldn’t buy. On behalf of every American woman who puts dishes in and out tonight and tomorrow morning, I concede.”
Rep. Katie Porter strongly opposed the dishwasher bill. (Andrew Harnick/Pool via Reuters)
Mr Duncan replied: “I will respond to this nice lady, I load and unload dishes from the dishwasher, Mr Speaker, and on multiple occasions I open the dishwasher, put in a good amount of dishwasher detergent or detergent pods to ensure all the dishes are clean, rinse before loading the dishes and then run it again.
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“Americans know they have to run their dishwashers multiple times, so how is that a cost-saving measure?” Duncan added, arguing that the new standards would make dishwashers even less efficient.
“I’m not here to be lectured by someone who seems very religious about the proper storage of dishwashers and refrigerators.”
