Don't Mess with My Home Appliances Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4626. I thank the ranking member for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, we are here at a time when later today we are going to hear the State of the Union Address. Based upon everything we know with the state of the Union, things are very expensive. Our neighbors back home are suffering a real affordability squeeze.

Especially when we are talking about energy, we know that 80 million Americans are struggling to pay their utility bills right now. Look at our home State of Florida, Mr. Speaker, where FPL and TECO were just granted the largest rate hikes in history. That is $6 billion that Floridians are going to have to pay, higher costs at a time when they are really struggling with groceries and housing and hurricane repair at the same time.

Across America, electric utility rate hikes are at about 13 percent, much higher in some places. We know that manufacturing jobs decreased last year in 2025. Much of that is because of these arbitrary tariffs, the highest import taxes in about 100 years that Americans are paying for. Even the Supreme Court said we can't do that. They are arbitrary. They are illegal. People really deserve to get some money back from the illegal tariffs.

Then when we add on top the impact of the big, ugly bill. It is anticipated that due to the big, ugly bill passed by Republicans last summer, hardworking Americans are going to pay about 61 percent more on their electric bills over the next decade. Of course, there are healthcare costs, too, because of that big, ugly bill.

My guest for the State of the Union Address tonight is a small business owner from Tampa, Linda Misner. She and her husband own a healthcare business, a wellness business, in Tampa. With the benefit of the Affordable Care Act tax credits, they were paying about $300 per month. Just like a lot of Florida families, they are hardworking Americans, small business owners.

As they are too young for Medicare, healthcare costs are just killing them. Without the tax credit, their health insurance premium will go from about $320 per month to $3,000 per month. That is outrageous.

Republicans ripping away that healthcare tax credit means that Linda and her husband now have had to go to an insurance plan that does not provide the same coverage. It doesn't provide prescription care. They are really at their wits' end, like a lot of Americans.

Things are too expensive. Everything the Republicans and the President have done has made life harder. It has made going to the grocery store like a military exercise. We are trying to figure out what we can buy.

To add insult to injury, we should be working together on legislation that will help our neighbors back home. What bills do the Republicans bring to the floor of the House today, the day of the State of the Union Address? They bring a bill that is going to make things more expensive. They are going to make electricity bills more expensive.

Energy efficiency standards are very popular. They are some of the most important tools that we have in helping to keep the pressure on lower electric bills. They have been a success.

Energy efficiency standards used to be bipartisan for refrigerators and air conditioners and dishwashers, but that has gone by the wayside. I don't know why. Mr. Pallone kind of shined a light on that. High- powered corporations with all too much influence here in Washington, D.C., are calling the shots.

Utility companies and oil and gas companies want us to use more energy. They want us to consume more. They don't want us to be energy efficient. People really deserve better these days.

What does H.R. 4626 do? It guts those efficiency standards that have saved the average American household about $6,000 over the last 10 years. In fact, Consumer Reports, a very well-respected and trusted organization, the Consumer Federation of America, writes:

``Appliance efficiency standards ensure that any of the huge array of product choices available to consumers incorporate energy-saving designs and technology that help limit energy consumption and utility bills.''

``Energy efficiency doesn't just directly save money but also puts downward pressure on utility rates. Energy efficiency gains have helped create a downward trend in household energy consumption over the past 20 years, reducing the amount of investments utilities have had to make, preventing costs that they would have otherwise passed on to consumers. While energy efficiency alone can't solve all energy affordability challenges, it plays an important role in helping to counterbalance rising electricity prices.''

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record this letter from Consumer Reports and Consumer Federation of America. February 23, 2026. Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Brett Guthrie, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Frank Pallone, Ranking Member, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Chairman Guthrie, and Ranking Member Pallone: The undersigned groups write in strong opposition to H.R. 4626, which would grant new powers to the executive branch to weaken or remove appliance and equipment efficiency standards and set roadblocks to future improvements. If enacted, this bill would raise costs for households across America.

Appliance standards ensure consumers and businesses have access to cost-saving technologies that help reduce their utility bills. Without existing standards, the typical US household would have spent an additional $6,000 on utility bills over the past decade, according to a recent report.

With these savings, it's not surprising that these standards have broad public support. Surveys conducted in 2025 by Consumer Reports showed that an overwhelming majority (87 percent) of consumers across the political spectrum (82 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats) believe, that new home appliances for sale in the U.S. should be required to achieve at least a minimum level of efficiency.'' Respondents say that their top motivation for wanting a more efficient large home appliance is lower energy bills.

Appliance efficiency standards ensure that any of the huge array of product choices available to consumers incorporate energy- saving designs and technology that help limit energy consumption and utility bills. Even with potentially higher upfront costs, energy efficient appliances still provide much more than adequate bill savings for consumers across the country. Existing efficiency standards deliver a 3x to 5x return on investment for buyers. Minimum efficiency standards are especially valuable for the ∼44 million American households who rent, and typically have no direct control over the appliances within their homes.

Energy efficiency doesn't just directly save money but also puts downward pressure on utility rates. Energy efficiency gains have helped create a downward trend in household energy consumption over the past 20 years, reducing the amount of investments utilities have had to make, preventing costs that they would have otherwise passed on to consumers. While energy efficiency alone can't solve all energy affordability challenges, it plays an important role in helping to counterbalancing rising electricity prices.

By potentially enabling the executive branch to roll back efficiency standards, H.R. 4626 would increase costs for consumers. H.R. 4626 would add needless steps to an already lengthy rulemaking process and set arbitrary minimum savings thresholds and payback periods that would put future improvements to many standards out of reach.

For the above reasons, the undersigned consumer organizations respectfully oppose H.R. 4626. Thank you for this opportunity to address these policy measures. The undersigned groups welcome the opportunity to discuss how Congress can improve affordability for consumers, but this bill takes us in the wrong direction. Sincerely, Chris Harto, Manager, Sustainability Policy, Consumer Reports, Washington, DC. Karim Marshall, Director, Climate and Energy, Consumer Federation of America, Washington, DC. Berneta Haynes,

Senior Attorney, National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of our low-income clients, Boston, MA.

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Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the bill also says it would gut the ability of manufacturers, consumer groups, and others to arrive at consensus.

Most of what happens when the Department of Energy goes to update energy efficiency standards is that everyone gets together and they work out a consensus. It is a consensus that helps consumers save money but ensures that there is not a burden on business. Over time, technology has improved time and time again.

Some of us are old enough to reflect on the very limited choices we had decades ago on our household appliances. Now we go shopping. We have wide consumer choice.

I know my friends on the other side of the aisle like to say this is a mandate. They are telling us what to buy. People are smart. They know better than that.

When consumers go shopping, it is up to them to decide: Do I want the energy efficient model? Do I want the midsize model? What benefits us? What really applies and helps my family? They have the choice to make.

Over time, through this important energy efficiency initiative at the Department of Energy, people have really saved a lot of money. It has allowed our manufacturers to do well.

To gut these energy efficiency standards would be a gift to China. People are already suffering, paying more because of tariffs on some household appliances and supplies. If we really want to help consumers save money, why don't we do something to get the tariff revenue back to hardworking Americans?

A lot of the big businesses now are saying to the Trump administration that they want that tariff money back. What would really be fair is to get that tariff money back to the hardworking Americans who paid those import taxes, those illegal tariffs and arbitrary tariffs, imposed by a President who would like to wield them for retribution, creating--let's get back to the state of the Union-- creating chaos and instability at a time when American families really need policymakers looking out for them and their wallets.

In the end, Mr. Speaker, energy conservation programs have been a very critical and valuable tool to our neighbors back home to help them save trillions of dollars over the past decades. It saves hardworking Americans thousands of dollars per year. It helps businesses save money.

Why in the world, especially on the day of the State of the Union Address, in the middle of an affordability squeeze, would the Republicans bring another bill to the floor that is going to increase the cost of living for our neighbors back home? It is not right. I think Mr. Pallone is absolutely correct. People are out of touch in Washington, D.C.

They listen too often to the loud voices of the powerful special interests and not to the hardworking Americans who are really suffering with higher costs.

Mr. Speaker, people deserve a whole lot better. I hope they will vote this bill down and get back to work serving the people whom we represent.

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