Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I oppose the gentleman's amendment, given it is a solution in search of a problem. Since their implementation, standards for ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits have saved American consumers--are you ready?--$4.5 billion--billion--in energy costs, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 22 metric tons. Nearly a decade ago--why do we have this system? Because three States--California, Maryland, and New York--created their own unique standards for ceiling fan test procedures and performance, and these varying requirements created difficulties for manufacturers marketing products across all 50 States. In response, the fan manufacturing industry asked the Federal Government for a national standard that would reduce unnecessary complexity. Since that time, the DOE, Department of Energy, has not even proposed a new rule on ceiling fans, so it is premature to react to what might be in a new rule. Even if a new rule is proposed, implementation is years away. The Department's analysis so far has shown that options exist for increasing ceiling fan efficiency that are cost-effective for manufacturers and the consumers. Any upgrades will enable consumers to save money by saving energy, also moving our country closer to its low-carbon future. Given the proposed rule has yet to be released, industry cannot anticipate how much their manufacturing costs might increase, whether their business model would be turned upside down, or whether the rule would result in energy growth.…”