Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Rule Submitted By the Department of Energy Relating to ``Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-Fired Instantaneous Water Heaters''
Floor Speech
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Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 161, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 20) providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to ``Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
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Mr. LATTA. Res. 20.
Mr. Speaker, on December 26, while American families were enjoying the holidays, the Biden administration's Department of Energy issued a final rule once again, setting cost prohibitive energy conservation standards for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters.
Today, the House will consider the gentleman from Alabama's Sixth District's legislation, H.J. Res. 20, to overturn this egregious standard.
Under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, EPCA, in order to promulgate new or amended energy efficiency standards, the DOE must find that the standard be cost-effective, technologically feasible, and result in a significant conservation of energy. This amended standard does not meet those criteria and should be repealed.
In this final rule, the DOE fails to adequately estimate the cost difference between condensing and noncondensing water heaters. This difference will result in a significant cost increase for consumers, especially low-income households and seniors, by removing more affordable options from the market.
In fact, the DOE itself estimated that the amended standard would increase the cost of new water heater models by $231. However, the DOE failed to adequately estimate the cost difference between condensing and noncondensing models in this assessment.
On top of expensive installation costs, industry stakeholders estimate the actual cost increase for American consumers will range between $450 to $665 per unit. This staggering increase is not cost- effective, as stipulated by EPCA, and is unattainable for many families.
The Biden-Harris administration consistently ignored this stipulation in a number of rulemakings, and the gas heater rule is no different.
This amended standard will ban approximately 40 percent of the tankless gas water heaters currently available, forcing consumers to purchase significantly more expensive or less efficient models.
Not only do bans on gas appliances infringe on consumer choice, but it also increases strains on our Nation's grid, which cannot sustain such massive and rapid amounts of forced electrification without new, baseload generation coming online.
President Trump, understanding the serious concerns unjustified energy efficiency standards pose for consumers, issued an executive order on day one to unleash American energy. This EO stated that it is the policy of the United States to safeguard the American people's freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances.
Additionally, this administration has paused implementation of this final rule and issued a Statement of Administration Policy supporting H.J. Res. 20. Congress should pass H.J. Res. 20 to right the wrongs of the previous administration, execute President Trump's agenda, and protect our consumers.
I thank the gentleman from Alabama's Sixth District for his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from the Third District of Georgia (Mr. Jack).
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Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, we have heard from various speakers today, but I think it is really important to point out that, once again, because of the Biden-Harris administration's gas heater rule, we are going to ban approximately 40 percent of the tankless gas water heaters currently available, forcing consumers to have to pay more and get less efficient models.
This doesn't make sense. Not only does this rule go on to ban these gas appliances and infringe on consumer choice, but it also increases strains on the Nation's grid, which cannot sustain such massive and rapid amounts of forced electrification without new baseload generation coming online.
When we talk about this loss of consumer choice, the DOE underestimated the cost by $231 because when you look at the actual costs out there, industry stakeholders are estimating it is going to bring the cost up between $450 to $665 per unit.
I think it is also important to note that, in the last Congress, in the Energy and Commerce Committee's Energy Subcommittee, I asked everybody who came before us the same question when we had these testimonies: Do we have to have more energy in this country or less? Everybody said the exact same thing. We have to produce more energy in this country, but we also have to make sure we are producing the energy to make that energy in this country.
Republicans have led that way starting back in 2008 with our all-of- the-above energy policy, which said we weren't going to pick winners and losers. We were going to let the consumer decide and let the market decide, and that is important.
If we are going to make sure we become energy independent in this country, we have to start thinking about those things. It is important.
Madam Speaker, I urge the passage of H.J. Res. 20, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 221, nays 198, answered ``present'' 2, not voting 12, as follows: [Roll No. 53] YEAS--221 Aderholt Allen Amodei (NV) Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Baumgartner Bean (FL) Begich Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs (AZ) Biggs (SC) Bilirakis Boebert Bost Brecheen Bresnahan Buchanan Burchett Burlison Bynum Calvert Cammack Carey Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Collins Comer Crane Crank Crawford Crenshaw Cuellar Davidson Davis (NC) De La Cruz DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Downing Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Evans (CO) Ezell Fallon Fedorchak Feenstra Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flood Fong Foxx Franklin, Scott Fulcher Garbarino Gill (TX) Gillen Gimenez Golden (ME) Goldman (TX) Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez, V. Gooden Gosar Graves Gray Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Hamadeh (AZ) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (MD) Harris (NC) Harshbarger Hern (OK) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hurd (CO) Issa Jack Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kean Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (UT) Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Kim Knott Kustoff LaHood LaLota LaMalfa Langworthy Latta Lawler Lee (FL) Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luna Luttrell Mace Mackenzie Malliotakis Maloy Mann Massie Mast McCaul McClain McClintock McCormick McDowell McGuire Messmer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (OH) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Mills Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Moskowitz Murphy Newhouse Norman Nunn (IA) Obernolte Ogles Onder Owens Palmer Perez Perry Pfluger Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rouzer Roy Rulli Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schmidt Schweikert Self Sessions Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steil Steube Strong Stutzman Suozzi Taylor Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner (OH) Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Vindman Wagner Walberg Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Wied Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NAYS--198 Adams Aguilar Amo Ansari Auchincloss Balint Barragan Beatty Bell Bera Beyer Bishop Bonamici Boyle (PA) Brown Brownley Budzinski Carbajal Carson Carter (LA) Casar Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Cherfilus-McCormick Chu Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Conaway Connolly Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crockett Crow Davids (KS) Davis (IL) Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier Dexter Dingell Doggett Elfreth Escobar Espaillat Evans (PA) Fields Figures Fletcher Foster Foushee Friedman Frost Garamendi Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Goldman (NY) Gomez Goodlander Green, Al (TX) Harder (CA) Hayes Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jacobs Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Kamlager-Dove Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy (NY) Khanna Krishnamoorthi Landsman Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latimer Lee (NV) Lee (PA) Leger Fernandez Levin Liccardo Lieu Lofgren Lynch Magaziner Mannion Matsui McBath McBride McClain Delaney McClellan McCollum McDonald Rivet McGarvey McGovern McIver Meeks Menendez Meng Mfume Min Moore (WI) Morelle Morrison Moulton Mrvan Nadler Neal Neguse Norcross Ocasio-Cortez Olszewski Pallone Panetta Pappas Pelosi Peters Pingree Pocan Pou Pressley Quigley Ramirez Randall Raskin Riley (NY) Rivas Ross Ruiz Ryan Salinas Sanchez Scanlon Schakowsky Schneider Scholten Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Simon Smith (WA) Sorensen Soto Stansbury Stanton Stevens Strickland Subramanyam Swalwell Sykes Takano Thanedar Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Tran Turner (TX) Underwood Vargas Vasquez Veasey Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Whitesides Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--2 Fry Van Orden NOT VOTING--12 Alford Donalds Frankel, Lois Gottheimer Grijalva Hunt Mullin Nehls Omar Pettersen Scott, Austin Stefanik
Mr. LANDSMAN changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mses. BYNUM, and GILLEN changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
Mr. CLEAVER changed his vote from ``present'' to ``nay.''
Mr. VAN ORDEN changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``present.''
So the joint resolution was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I'm not recorded because I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 53.
Stated against:
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