GOP wages energetic fight against light bulb standards

House Republicans are finally ready to make good on their promise to stay the execution of incandescent light bulbs.

After months of fiery rhetoric from conservative commentators including Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, GOP members confirmed they’re on track for a floor vote Monday on a bill that would stop the federally mandated transition to more energy-efficient home lighting.

Republicans plan to bring up their bill under suspension of the rules, a House procedure (usually used for noncontroversial items such as post office namings) that requires two-thirds support and prohibits amendments.

Lead sponsor Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, told Politico he is “working real hard on the Democratic side” to win about 40 of their votes. The bill currently has only Republican co-sponsors after Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, removed her name from the measure Thursday evening.

“Their eyes have been opened and they see the effect of it, and the jobs consequences and the energy efficiency,” Barton said Thursday.

Conservatives have made the issue a rallying cry against big government, even if the idea was part of a 2007 energy conservation law signed by then-President George W. Bush.

The Energy Independence and Security Act didn’t ban incandescent light bulbs per se, but it set new energy-efficiency standards for lighting. That resulted in manufacturers phasing out the old light bulbs and increased consumer use of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), which contain tiny amounts of mercury and require careful handling and disposal.

Introduced on July 6, Barton’s bill, HR 2417 or the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, would repeal the energy-efficiency standards of the 2007 law. It would also bar federal, state and local energy efficiency standards that “can be satisfied only by installing or using lamps containing mercury.”

New Hampshire’s two Republican congressmen, Charlie Bass and Frank Guinta, said they are still reviewing the legislation, which is expected to come up for a vote Monday evening.

Guinta spokesman J. Mark Powell said the congressman wants to see the final language of the bill before deciding how he will vote.

But Guinta released the following statement: “When it comes to deciding how to light our homes, offices and other buildings, consumers should decide what products they want instead of the government telling them what they need. We should let the free market determine what products we choose to use, rather than having a nagging government decide for us.”

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., played a key role in drafting the 2007 law, which prompted Beck and Limbaugh to question whether he was a suitable conservative when he made his bid last fall for the chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Before he won the gavel, Upton promised to revisit the issue.

“It is one of those issues out there that just inflames people,” said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, a co-sponsor of HR 2417. “What in the world were you doing restricting the kinds of light bulbs in my home?”

Barton, who lost to Upton in the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman race, said he recently went on a fact-finding trip to a grocery store.

“I bought a 60-watt CFL bulb last night at Giant for $6, and I bought four 60-watt incandescents for 37.5 cents apiece, four for a buck and a half,” Barton said. “It takes a long time to make up efficiency when it’s an 18-to-1 outlay up front.”

The Obama administration has come out against the measure.

“At a time when American families are struggling from increased energy costs, it makes no sense to repeal this common sense, bipartisan proposal that saves consumers $6 billion annually,” said Energy Department spokesman Damien LaVera.

The sole Democrat who had co-sponsored the measure, Johnson, dropped off the bill Thursday evening.

“My goal in co-signing HR 2417 was to make light bulbs less expensive and more accessible for low-income families. However, many of my constituents feel differently about the bill and have asked that I remove my name,” Johnson said in a statement to Politico. “I support and listen to my constituents and have removed my name from co-sponsorship of HR 2417.”

Source: www.unionleader.com