AFP Applauds House Passage of Appliance Bills to Stop DOE Overreach

Jul 11, 2024 by AFP

Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives got back to work passing legislation to address the energy affordability crisis facing all Americans. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 7637, the Refrigerator Freedom Act and H.R. 7700, the Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act to stop Department of Energy rulemaking overreach.  

If left unchecked, new standards to strangle conventional energy use by President Biden’s Department of Energy (DOE) will limit choice for consumer appliances and damage the future of new at-home appliances affordability in products like clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, and other domestic necessities.  

AFP Chief Government Affairs Officer Brent Gardner issued the following statement after passage: 

“On behalf of taxpayers and consumers across the country, AFP thanks Reps. Miller-Meeks and Langworthy for introducing common sense legislation to stop the Biden Administration’s runaway regulatory regime. 

“While Americans are asking for more choice and affordability for critical everyday home products, the Biden Administration continues to release senseless energy rules that make refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves and other home appliances unaffordable, less reliable, and in some cases unfeasible for manufacturers to make.  

“Americans continue to suffer under the effects of ‘Bidenomics’ as energy costs have risen to historic highs. Unfortunately, Biden’s allies in Congress refuse to take responsibility for their part in Americans’ pain and continue to back the President’s policies despite calls from their constituents to stem the bleeding and correct course.” 

“AFP urges on the U.S. Senate to take up this legislation prior to adjournment this fall to prevent DOE from further meddling in the appliance market and slow the President’s war on consumer choice.” 

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Background: Recently, the Department of Energy finalized  a heavy handed rule for home appliances that are unfeasible. Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the Department of Energy (DOE) holds regulatory authority to set energy efficiency standards for consumer products and some industrial equipment. However, the new energy efficiency standards are leading to higher prices, longer appliance run times, and overall negligible savings for American consumers. If unchanged, these new standards will apply to clothes washers, clothes dryers, refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, freezers, air conditioners, and dishwashers, among other consumer products.   

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