Ruling against Biden White House comes amidst his wide-ranging efforts to regulate & curtail the appliances most Americans can afford
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — First it was Vice President Harris and her husband facing nationwide criticism during the holidays for having posted a picture of themselves posing next to their Gas Stove – despite President Biden's having proposed earlier this year to eliminate most American's usage of such household items. Now, a Federal Appeals Court has struck down Mr. Biden's efforts to target the use of dishwashers through a little-known Department of Energy (DOE) regulatory action.
For the entirety of his administration, Biden has aggressively used virtually every Federal Agency possible to impose the left's climate and energy efficiency agenda on American Consumers – which include what some experts say will be costly, and sometimes unaffordable price increases."This is a huge win for consumers – especially lower income consumers – and should allow them the continued freedom to choose the washing machines and dishwashers that have proven to meet their needs," said Sterling Burnett, the Heartland Institute's director of Climate & Environmental Policy.
"This will keep less expensive models, effective models, on the market – and allow lower income Americans to purchase a new appliance when desired without necessarily having to make sacrifices elsewhere," Burnett said.
The ruling comes amidst Mr. Biden's broad and wide-ranging efforts to regulate appliances and curtail what are currently more affordable options for the American public – particularly the poor whom they so ardently say they support.
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling late Monday that overturns the DOE's 2022 decision to repeal a President Donald Trump regulation that governed water and energy use in dishwashers and clothes washers. The 5th Circuit's ruling is a victory for the people of 11 Republican states whose Attorney Generals sued DOE over its actions, and the Consumer Advocacy Groups which have fought against the overly-burdensome standards for home appliances.
"Even if DOE could consider dishwashers’ and clothes washers’ ‘efficiency’ – in both ‘energy use’ and ‘water use’ – the 2020 Rules that are already in place likely promoted greater efficiency in both categories than the Mr. Biden's Repeal Rule," the court's decision stated.
"Assuming both energy conservation metrics are on the table, the States argue – and DOE does not appear to dispute – that one important aspect of that problem is whether appliance regulations actually reduces energy and water consumption.
"Yet the administrative record contains ample evidence that DOE’s efficiency standards likely do the opposite: They make Americans use more energy and more water for the simple reason that purportedly ‘energy efficient’ appliances do not work," the 5th Circuit Court's ruling concluded.
"Assuming both energy conservation metrics are on the table, the States argue – and DOE does not appear to dispute – that one important aspect of that problem is whether appliance regulations actually reduces energy and water consumption.
"Yet the administrative record contains ample evidence that DOE’s efficiency standards likely do the opposite: They make Americans use more energy and more water for the simple reason that purportedly ‘energy efficient’ appliances do not work," the 5th Circuit Court's ruling concluded.
The 5th Circuit ruling added that highly-efficient dishwashers – which use less water but often force consumers to run multiple cycles, or to manually handwash dishes – lead to both more overall energy and water use.
"Water and energy use are just one factor when choosing an appliance to purchase – and the government should not be deciding for individuals that it's the primary one," said the Heartland Institute's Burnett.
The Biden White House's Dept. of Energy actions violated the Energy Policy & Conservation Act, and were "arbitrary and capricious," the lawsuit argued. The 5th Circuit Court agreed with the states in its ruling Monday – even appearing to cast doubt on the DOE's authority to regulate dishwasher water use at all.- BIDEN ADMIN LAUNCHED AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN TARGETING HOME APPLIANCES WITH ECO REGULATIONS IN 2023
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Those standards allowed for the sale of faster dishwashers and clothes washers, which used slightly more water and energy.
But shortly after Biden took office in 2021, DOE quickly moved to repeal the standards, an action it finalized in early 2022. Months later, 11 Republican State Attorneys General filed a legal challenge, asking the court to reinstate the 2020 regulations.
"These arbitrary washing machine regulations are unlawful, ineffective, and absolutely ridiculous," said then-attorney general of Arizona Mark Brnovich at the time .
"They should be hung out to dry as soon as possible."
"They should be hung out to dry as soon as possible."
Mr. Biden's Dept. of Energy has aggressively been pursuing regulations targeting:
- Gas Stoves
- Water Heaters
- Home Furnaces
- Refrigerators, and
- several other popular appliances
"In this opinion, the court has forced DOE to follow the law and even noted that one of the positions DOE took in this suit ‘borders on frivolous.’
"This decision allows manufacturers to build better dishwashers – not be encumbered by counterproductive federal regulations."
"This decision allows manufacturers to build better dishwashers – not be encumbered by counterproductive federal regulations."Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm (right,) vowed in December to continue issuing such rulemakings in 2024.
