MORGAN GRIFFITH: Here They Go Again

The size and spending of the federal government has exploded. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, federal spending is estimated to increase 43% between 2019 and 2024.

The nonprofit OpenTheBooks.com recently released a report about the growth of one of our federal agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), showing that the agency’s budget has increased by more than $100 billion over the past two years under Biden. Additionally, the President is seeking to increase EPA’s full-time staff by thousands in fiscal year 2024.

One would hope that with more money and employees, our federal government would be working to make average Americans’ lives easier. But apparently that’s not the case.

A series of new rules and regulations from the Biden Administration has made clear that the federal government is going to further overregulate our lives, this time with our appliances.

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) proposed a rule which would set maximum annual energy consumption standards for electric and gas stoves. According to DOE, this change would cause half of gas stove models sold in the United States to be non-compliant.

House Republicans took action to prevent this government overreach by passing the Save Our Gas Stoves Act in June, legislation to prohibit DOE from implementing the proposed rule. The legislation is pending in the Senate.

Well, it hasn’t stopped at gas stoves.

In February, DOE proposed new energy standards for washing machines and refrigerators. DOE says Americans who update both appliances would save $425 on their utility bill over the average lifetime of the appliances, which works out to about $16 per appliance per year.

Manufactures of appliances warn the new standards will lead to reduced performance and much higher prices, affecting lower- and middle-income families who can’t afford the skyrocketing prices of new refrigerators and washing machines.

Years back a woman from Bluefield told me she was filling her washing machine with a hose because Obama-era water restrictions for washing machines wouldn’t allow for enough water to properly clean her clothes.

Now the new Biden DOE regulations will require washing machines to use almost 25 percent less water – the problem is only getting worse!

Also, DOE released a rule to cut water use by more than one-third for dishwashers.

According to the Institute for Energy Research, these changes to dishwashers would result in higher upfront prices for the appliance, while only saving Americans $17 annually on water and energy costs (based on a standard-size dishwasher).

Further, DOE released a draft rule to force most electric water heaters in the future to deploy heat pump technology and gas-fired water heaters to use condensing technology. According to Fox News Digital, experts have criticized the draft rule, as the new standards would ban cheaper alternatives while minimally impacting utility bills.

Around the same time, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission proposed a policy which would ban the sale of almost all portable gas-powered electric generators.

It seems that no appliance is safe from the Biden Administration.

In fact, a new light bulb ban has just gone into effect.

Under DOE regulations, manufacturers and retailers are no longer allowed to sell most incandescent light bulbs, which make up about 30% of light bulbs sold in the United States, in an effort to force Americans to use light-emitting diode, or LED, light bulbs.

According to the Residential Energy Consumption Survey, this new regulation will particularly impact lower-income Americans as they prefer to use incandescent over LED.

Forcing Americans to use LED light bulbs may have negative health effects. According to reports from a University of Exeter study, LED emits more blue light, which suppresses melatonin. This can affect your sleep cycle and over time, lead to problems like hypertension, diabetes, or even a heart attack.

This overregulation by the federal government hurts the working poor and middle class the most. When a family has to replace their appliances, some Americans won’t be able to afford to do so.

That is a heap of pain for little gain!

It’s not like the current regulations date back to the 1950s! Most of these regulations are about a decade old.

These new overreaching regulations on appliances by the federal government are making Americans’ lives more difficult and more costly. The Biden Administration is focused on small gains without a care for the financial burden being placed on lower- and middle-income families.

The increased costs will not affect wealthy folks. The Biden Administration has lost touch with average Americans.

– Congressman Morgan Griffith