The House voted Tuesday to limit the Department of Energy’s ability to impose efficiency regulations on home washing machines with support from a small number of moderate Democrats.
Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles’ “Liberty in Laundry Act,” H.R. 7673, passed the House 215-200 vote. The legislation would bar DOE from implementing or enforcing new efficiency rules on washing machines if they are not “cost-effective or technologically feasible” and do not result in “significant conservation of energy.”
“First it was gas stoves, then it’s water heaters, then air conditioners. … Now the Biden administration is going after your washing machines,” Ogles said during debate. “When the government tries to micromanage something as basic as your laundry routine, … my Republican colleagues and I will take a stand.”
The vote was part of an ongoing GOP campaign against what critics call the administration’s regulatory overreach against appliances. DOE has taken over 100 actions under the Biden administration to strengthen energy efficiency standards for a range of appliances and equipment that Democrats argue lower costs for American families.
