We’ve seen this dim idea before:

HB 2468: Rep. Cynthia Davis (r) – another not so bright idea from a dim bulb (April 2, 2010)

….No, we’re not making this up. And we can’t really venture to call this an elaborate “April Fools” joke because it is coming from the poster child for the batshit crazy wingnut segment of the Missouri body politic….

Energy efficient light bulbs are apparently some kind of an affront to right wingnuts. You’ve got to wonder if the irony escapes them.

Definitely yes.

Who knew that Congress would run with it? Uh, better question, why did it take the current republican controlled U.S. House so long?

It didn’t:

H.R.91 — Better Use of Light Bulbs Act (Introduced in House – IH)

[….]

A BILL

To repeal certain amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act with respect to lighting energy efficiency.

  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,



SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

   This Act may be cited as the `Better Use of Light Bulbs Act’.

SEC. 2. LIGHTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

   (a) In General- Subtitle B of title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) is repealed.

   (b) Application- The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) shall be applied and administered as if subtitle B of title III of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (and the amendments made by that subtitle) had not been enacted.

[emphasis in original]

And some of the co-sponsors?:

Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2] – 1/5/2011

Rep Hartzler, Vicky [MO-4] – 1/19/2011

[emphasis added]

The bill text doesn’t give much detail for the uninitiated. There is another which does and which is supposedly going to be voted on by the House today:

H.R.2417 — Better Use of Light Bulbs Act (Introduced in House – IH)

HR 2417 IH

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2417

To repeal certain amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act with respect to lighting energy efficiency, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



July 6, 2011

[….]

A BILL

To repeal certain amendments to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act with respect to lighting energy efficiency, and for other purposes.

   Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

   This Act may be cited as the `Better Use of Light Bulbs Act’.

SEC. 2. LIGHTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

   (a) In General- Sections 321 and 322 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) are repealed.

   (b) Application- The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.) shall be applied and administered as if sections 321 and 322 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (and the amendments made by those sections) had not been enacted.

SEC. 3. MERCURY-CONTAINING LIGHTING.

   No Federal, State, or local requirement or standard regarding energy efficient lighting shall be effective to the extent that the requirement or standard can be satisfied only by installing or using lamps containing mercury.

SEC. 4. STATE REGULATION.

   No State or local regulation, or revision thereof, concerning the energy efficiency or energy use of medium screw base general service incandescent lamps shall be effective.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

   In this Act, the terms `general service incandescent lamp’, `lamp’, and `medium screw base’ have the meanings given those terms pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6201 et seq.), as applied and administered pursuant to section 2.

[emphasis in original]

“…No State or local regulation, or revision thereof, concerning the energy efficiency or energy use of medium screw base general service incandescent lamps shall be effective…”

So much for state’s rights.

And some of the co-sponsors?:

Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2] – 7/6/2011

Rep Hartzler, Vicky [MO-4] – 7/8/2011.

[emphasis added]

What’s the reason for and purpose of this republican bill? Take a wild guess:

Battle of the Bulb

House Takes Aim at Efficiency Standards

By Coral Davenport

Updated: July 11, 2011 | 2:12 p.m.

July 8, 2011 | 6:03 p.m.

….At the time it was introduced, the legislation was championed by Democratic and Republican leaders alike. The original 2007 lightbulb efficiency language was cosponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Ill. It passed easily through the House Energy and Commerce Committee and was added as an amendment to a bill that passed the Senate by a vote of 86-8, passed the House by a vote of 314-100, and was signed into law by President George W. Bush.

So how did Republicans get from there to here on the lightbulb law?        

The answer has very little to do with energy policy and everything to do with tea party politics….

Oh, I get it. The republicans in the House were for more efficient light bulbs before they were against them.

Teabaggers. You know, the most rational segment of the American political scene.

What do significantly more reality based individuals say about the bill?:

Energy chief defends light bulb standards

By Andrew Restuccia – 07/08/11 01:36 PM ET

Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Friday defended a series of light bulb efficiency standards that are coming under attack from House Republicans….

“….I want to take this opportunity to dispel a myth,” Chu said. “These standards do not ban incandescent bulbs.”

The standards, which were passed as part of a landmark 2007 energy law, require that incandescent bulbs be 30 percent more energy efficient beginning in 2012.

“You’re still going to be able to buy halogen incandescent bulbs,” Chu said. “They’ll look exactly like the ones you’re used to. They can dim. They cut out instantly. They look and feel the same. The only difference is they will help American consumers save money….”

The usual suspects behave in the usual manner:

Republicans Set To Repeal Light Bulb Efficiency Standard That Would Save Consumers $12 Billion A Year

By Stephen Lacey on Jul 8, 2011 at 9:09 am

“….When this bill was passed, it was passed by people who knew how to make light bulbs,” says Randall Moorhead, vice president of government affairs at Philips, a leading light bulb producer. “Everyone supported it. And since then, it’s created more choice for consumers – we have two incandescent bulbs on the market that weren’t there before.”

But in an effort to score political points in the 2012 election cycle, Republican lawmakers have made patently false statements about the law – calling it a ban on incandescent light bulbs. Michigan Republican Fred Upton, who supported the law in 2007, is now back peddling and claiming that the efficiency standard is an example of “federal overr
each….”

Because we can’t have energy companies sell less energy?