Political Quotes

“Today's amendment is to maintain current law. Since the passage in 2007 of the Energy Security Act, I have heard from tens of thousands of constituents about how the language of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act takes away consumer choice when deciding which types of lightbulbs to purchase and place in their homes. While the government has passed energy efficiency standards in other realms over the years, never have they moved the bar so high and lowered the standard so drastically. It is to a point where technology is still years away from making lightbulbs that are compliant with the law at a price point the average American can afford. Opponents to my amendment will claim that the 2007 language does not ban the incandescent bulb. I would stipulate that that is true. But it does ban the sale of the 100-watt, the 60-watt, and the 45-watt bulb. The replacement bulbs are far from economically efficient, even if they are energy efficient. A family living paycheck to paycheck can't afford to replace every single bulb in their house at $25 to $35 a bulb, even if those bulbs do last 20 years. And 20 years from now, who knows if the technology is going to change again, and maybe the Congress will have them change their lightbulbs again. The economics of the lightbulb mandate are only part of the story.…”