Department of Energy proposes bans on lightbulbs & gas stoves
April 6, 2023 | by Tabitha Walter, Washington, D.C. Executive Director for Eagle Forum
Commentary
Easter celebrations are approaching, but affording eggs to dye and an Easter ham is harder this year with inflation causing prices to rise. The Left’s misguided economic policies are largely to blame for the poor post-pandemic recovery. Instead of looking for ways to ease the burdens on American families, the Biden Administration is adding insult to injury. The Department of Energy (DOE) is now proposing an Easter dinner by candlelight by issuing a lightbulb ban.
Democrats’ war on energy has become a battle against household appliances. In the past, the left has implemented regulations on detergent, toilets, showers, and dishwashers under the guise of “energy efficiency.” Ironically, these measures made clothes and dishes less clean – causing families to use more water to wash them again. Low-flow toilets required more flushes and can wreak havoc on the sewer system.
Now the DOE is banning incandescent and halogen lightbulbs to force Americans to purchase LED bulbs. The effort to ban the incandescent bulb began in 2007 with the Energy Independence and Security Act that gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the power to issue a death sentence to the Edison invention buy 2013. Years of pushback from Congress and the public delayed the date of its demise until this summer. The finalized rule issued in April 2022 prohibits manufacturers from selling certain non-LED bulbs beginning in August of this year lest they pay a fine of $542 per outlawed item. This action reversed Trump-era regulations that protected consumer choice.
Currently, less than half of households use mostly or entirely LED lighting. To make matters worse, only thirty-nine percent of households making $20,000 or less used LED lighting. DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm claims that consumers will save “nearly $3 billion per year on their utility bills.” After doing the math, the savings will total a mere $21.43 per customer annually. This wouldn’t come close to covering all bulbs in a household. Once again, the Left is essentially ‘taxing’ the poor and working class through their one-size-fits-all regulating.
The Biden administration is placing this unnecessary burden on families who already struggle financially. Inflation continues to rise with numbers showing a six percent increase from last year. In 2022, families’ electricity bills rose fourteen percent — a trend that isn’t slowing any time soon. Instead of encouraging policies that give families a choice in how they spend their money, the DOE continues to impose an extreme climate change agenda no matter the cost. The Biden administration’s calculations are out-of-touch and short-sighted.
The lightbulb ban comes on the heels of the DOE proposed rule that jeopardizes our gas stoves. From their own analysis, nearly half of all gas stoves would be prohibited under the regulation to further Biden’s climate change agenda. Not only will this make purchasing a gas stove more difficult, but homes that contain these illicit stoves will lose value and force homeowners to make costly changes if they want or need to sell. Members of the House and Senate have acted to stop the assault on stoves from moving forward. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act (S. 240) to protect gas stoves. Representative Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) introduced the companion bill (H.R. 1615) in the House. Eagle Forum has also drafted a petition to support these bills. To add your name to support, visit our website here.
These appliance regulations illustrate the burden that the federal government places on women. Pew Research found that eighty percent of married women with children are the main cooks and purchasers of groceries in the family. This means that women are the ones who must carefully shop within a tighter budget and navigate supply shortages. While the Biden administration claims to be “pro-woman,” their policies, even beyond household appliances and responsibilities, show otherwise.
The federal government’s overreach has gone too far. Eagle Forum opposes these bans on lightbulbs and gas stoves which clearly hurt families and take away women’s choices. We encourage Congress to use its authority to hold the DOE in check by passing legislation to repeal these regulations.