Don't Mess with My Home Appliances Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1075, I call up the bill (H.R. 4626) to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to prohibit the Secretary of Energy from prescribing any new or amended energy conservation standard for a product that is not technologically feasible and economically justified, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. 4626.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4626, the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act, sponsored by my colleague from Georgia's 12th District. This legislation modernizes energy efficiency authorities to lower costs for households and protects consumer choice.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, or EPCA, was established in 1975 amidst the oil crisis of the 1970s. EPCA gave statutory authority to the Department of Energy to regulate and set minimum efficiency standards for a list of covered products, including stoves, water heaters, and dishwashers, as well as certain commercial equipment.

At the time, Americans were dealing with the aftermath of the oil embargoes that led to mile-long gas lines and fuel rationing. The initial establishment of energy efficiency regulations was a matter of energy security.

By reducing consumption through the use of innovative technologies, we can insulate families from the harm caused by adversarial nations restricting access to critical energy resources.

Madam Speaker, 50 years later, EPCA has remained largely unchanged, but under Democratic administrations, the focus of conservation efforts shifted from energy security to green policies that advance the far- left agenda.

During the same period, the United States has become the premier energy-producing nation, while home appliances have simultaneously become vastly more efficient.

During the 4 long years of the Biden-Harris administration, however, the Department of Energy used EPCA authorities to regulate a host of everyday products like dishwashers, freezers, and dryers. But these regulations were neither based on what consumers need or focused on affordability. They were rooted in ambitious climate goals.

While EPCA requires regulation to be economically justified and cost effective, the Biden-Harris administration bent the rules so that households and businesses may not see any efficient savings for decades.

In fact, the Biden-Harris Department of Energy regulations on dryers could take up to 46 years to see efficiency benefits, even though household appliances are replaced every 8 to 9 years on average.

Americans are already paying 34 percent more for their energy bills than they were in 2010. Households simply cannot afford more expensive mandates coming out of Washington.

At a time when Americans are struggling to pay their bills because of inflation caused by the Biden-Harris administration's spending spree, the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act takes important steps to provide necessary relief to hardworking families. Decisions about home appliance should be left to American families, not bureaucrats in Washington.

The Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act institutes commonsense accountability at DOE to protect consumers from overregulation. Importantly, this bill will foster continued innovation in energy efficiency technologies. Refocusing EPCA's authorities on cost-effective efficiency standards will lower costs while continuing to improve household appliance performance.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4626, the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act to protect consumer choice, to modernize EPCA authorities, and to lower costs for American families.

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Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we are working on affordability. This whole bill is about affordability. If we look, because of the current Biden-Harris appliance policies, there is a 28 percent increase for refrigerators, a 25 percent increase for air-conditioners, and a 28 percent increase for dishwashers.

The argument is they are going to pay more up front, but they are going to make it back in efficiency over time. A refrigerator takes 6 years and sometimes, depending on which model you buy, 46 years to recoup the increase in the value. These are Department of Energy numbers. It is up to 10 years on refrigerators.

The question is: Do people want to pay a fourth more for a refrigerator in the hopes that over the next 10 years they will get that money back? It is just not realistic, and that is why we are fighting for affordability.

When we look at the energy prices being up, we can look at a map of the United States and see in which States they are up. They are higher. They are higher in States that have policies like this. They come particularly from blue States in our country. Local governments have put the affordability crisis in their cities. State governments have put the affordability crisis in their States.

I remember being in California just last year and putting gas in a rental car. I looked over and I think I was paying well over $5 there when I was paying about $2.50 in Kentucky. I remember looking over at the guy next to me, and I said: Do you guys have any idea what the rest of the country pays for gasoline?

It is just astounding. The policies have increased affordability, and they come here and say we are causing the affordability crisis. With the energy crisis, we are trying to keep power online, to keep it from going offline so we can have affordability.

This is all about affordability. It is not about just having an affordable product to buy. It is about buying a product of your choice.

I don't think we ever argued that anything in the Biden-Harris administration meant that people were going to go in and take their appliances out. When appliances only last 7 to 10 years and then they are replaced, people are going to pay a fourth more. That is what we are trying to fight. People are going to pay a fourth more and recoup it in probably a longer time than that appliance has a useful life. It is just not a good investment. It just doesn't make sense.

We think that EPCA should be reformed so that they do make decisions based on what is affordable and what gives the best choice to the consumers in America.

I proudly support this bill. I thank Mr. Allen for sponsoring it. I encourage its passage.

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