North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. LATTA. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to the amendment to strike section 4125 of the bill, which is language that Representative Welch and I have coauthored over the past two Congresses with bipartisan support. It was developed with a cross section of interests, including efficiency and consumer advocates, manufacturers, and the EPA.

By rejecting this amendment and keeping our language, we have an opportunity to encourage manufacturers to continue participation in the Energy Star program.

Energy Star is a highly successful, voluntary program. Consumers, manufacturers, and the government all win under Energy Star. The program was designed to be low-cost and low-compliance to incentivize participation by manufacturers, and the language included in this bill is needed to continue to incentivize participation.

For a product to be branded with the Energy Star logo, it must meet certain energy-saving guidelines. Manufacturers who choose to participate in this voluntary program make the necessary investments needed to increase the energy efficiency of their products.

In order to ensure their products maintain the required levels of efficiency, the Department of Energy performs off-the-shelf testing. If a product fails to meet the standard, that product is disqualified and then publicly listed on the Energy Star Web site. Immediately following a product's disqualification listing, the manufacturer and the EPA will then work to resolve the cause for disqualification.

It is important to note that our language does not prevent lawsuits from being filed; it just requires that a suit be filed before a product is disqualified from Energy Star.

If a product has been disqualified from the program by EPA, the EPA is best positioned to determine consumer impact and if such impact requires any action on the part of the manufacturer.

The EPA process is swift compared to legal proceedings, which could take years. If the focus is really on consumer reimbursement, shouldn't those fighting for consumer rights prefer the EPA disqualification process over class action litigation?

In the EPA disqualification process, the entire reimbursement goes to the consumer, versus a legal proceeding, where legal fees can consume large amounts of the award.

Energy Star has promoted economic expansion and job growth for participating manufacturers across the Nation. In defeating this amendment, we have an opportunity to continue to encourage participation by manufacturers instead of discouraging participation.

This section has the support of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and the Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Chairman, I would ask to reject the amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source