Oklahoma Congresswoman Stephanie Bice took issue with another Biden administration proposed policy—that of making ceiling fans more energy efficient.
She wrote Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, urging her to withdraw the proposed rule, saying it is “heavy-handed” and will “only increase costs for the public and small businesses, all while making the summer months even less bearable.”
“We are currently in a period of hot summer weather but also a time of high inflation,” Bice writes in her letter. “It is unconscionable that your department would seek to limit the options of the American people to stay cool in their own homes at a time like this.”
The Energy Department proposed new standards in June contending they would save a significant amount of energy. It also claimed the new fans would save households a lifetime average of $39.84. But increased costs of the production of the new style of fans is estimated at $86.6b million a year. The DOE stated the “estimated annual benefits are $281.1 million from reduced equipment operating costs.”
Rep. Bice is among other Republicans in Congress who are pushing back on the fan and she referenced that in Oklahoma City, temperatures had reached 105 degrees. The congresswoman said she worries the new regulations will only lead to more costly cooling measures and that “access to affordable cooling options during these summer months is a serious matter.”
“Once again, the Biden administration is using the power of the pen to attempt to control every aspect of how we live in our homes,” Bice said in a statement. “Instead of regulating ceiling fans, they should focus on providing relief to American families that are suffering under Bidenomics. The power of the executive state has grown too large, and I will continue working to hold them accountable.”
Earlier in the week, Republican members of the House Small Business Committee also wrote to the Energy Department opposing the ceiling fan rule, saying that it could drastically affect small businesses that manufacture fans.
“This rule would require numerous small business fan manufacturers to redesign their products and may put between 10 and 30 percent of small business ceiling fan manufacturers out of business,” the committee said.
Source: Bice press release & Washington Examiner