In 1975, Congress established the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to increase American energy production, encourage efficient energy use, and bolster national energy security. Under the EPCA, the Department of Energy (DOE) sets efficiency standards for 60 product categories – but these standards must be cost-effective, significantly save energy, and be technologically feasible. 

Unfortunately, President Biden’s DOE consistently abused their authority to push a radical energy agenda on American families and consumers, attempting to implement conservation standards that are neither economically justifiable nor significantly more energy efficient. These overreaching rules take away consumer choice, burden American families, and force Americans to use expensive appliances that do not perform as well. 

In December 2024, the Biden DOE published a final rule, “Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters,” that adopts “amended energy conservation standards for consumer water heaters,” that effectively ban certain natural gas water heaters from the market, placing financial burdens on consumers, particularly seniors and low-income households, and threatening consumer choice. 

The Biden DOE’s proposed standards aimed to shut down the use of natural gas and force electric appliances on the American people, regardless of cost, performance, or availability – putting their radical Green New Deal agenda before the needs of hardworking Americans. President Biden and Washington bureaucrats' war on everyday household appliances through unjustified standards only hurts American families and small businesses.

House Republicans are working to protect consumer choice from the burdensome rules issued under the Biden Administration and keep government agencies out of your home. Americans should be able to choose the water heater that best suits their needs – not have one forced on them by the government.

H.J. Res. 20, introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer, expresses congressional disapproval of the Biden Department of Energy’s  “Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters,” rule that effectively bans certain natural gas water heaters from the market, burdening consumers and threatening their choice.

House Republicans will continue working to protect consumer choice from government overreach and ensure families and hardworking Americans can keep their preferred appliances in their homes.