SEEC helps to defeat BULB Act and save Americans money on energy costs

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today the House of Representatives Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) helped to defeat the GOP-sponsored Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act (H.R. 2417), which would have repealed bipartisan federal light bulb energy efficiency standards that will go into effect in January 2012. These standards are anticipated to save American households $100 per year, and to save the nation $12 billion annually in energy costs.

SEEC opposed the shortsighted, ideological legislation. SEEC Vice Chair Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), in an editorial published by the Huffington Post, said:

"Let's set aside the misleading rhetoric and consider the facts. The United States has a long tradition of supporting innovation by setting energy efficiency standards. For example, America requires auto manufacturers to meet fuel economy standards, now set at 30 miles per gallon. As a result, the fuel efficiency of new cars has nearly doubled since standards were first enacted. Similarly, Congress has required manufacturers to create new, more energy-efficient refrigerators. Yet we haven't heard any calls to revert to turn-of-the-century Model Ts or ice boxes -- technologies that are roughly as old as the conventional light bulb. The new light bulb energy standards build upon these past policy successes. They will save our nation energy and save our consumers money. Moreover, they have already spurred technological innovation and created jobs."

SEEC Co-Chair Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) also blasted the bill, saying “protectors of special interests have always resisted giving consumers better, more energy efficient choices,” said Inslee, as reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “If we had listened to them we would still be driving cars that get 12 miles to the gallon. If we listen to them now, consumers won’t have the new technologies that save them money on their utility bills.”

"I find it very frustrating that Congress is even considering backward legislation that would only serve to deepen the energy crisis we are in," said SEEC Vice Chair Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME).