Energy Hearing: Examining Affordability, Choice, and Security in Appliance and Buildings Policies
2025-09-09
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Source: Congress.gov
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percent more on household appliances than they did in 2010. While there are a variety of factors that have contributed to these rising costs, we can't ignore the impact of misguided policies have had. The Biden administration tied Inflation Reduction Act, the IRA funding, to the forced adoption of the 2021 model energy codes, which restricted the use of gas and promoted electrification, even if it was not an appropriate choice for the consumer. This was done despite their own data that showed homes with natural gas hookups are over three times more affordable than electric options. But the Biden administration didn't stop there. DOE issued a rule to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in all new and modified federal buildings beginning in 2030. This would have included military installations and housing, some residential buildings, and sites of critical national security importance like the Pentagon. Not only would this compromise our security, but the rule would also have actually increased energy usage and added further strain to our nation's electric grid. We must strike a healthy balance between utilizing affordable energy and implementing common sense, effective energy conservation measures. Again, I want to thank our witnesses for their participation here today, and we look forward to hearing their perspectives. And I want to, again, thank you all, and I yield back the balance of my time and now recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentlelady from Florida's 14th District, for five minutes for an opening statement.
Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon, everyone. I've been looking forward to this hearing because it provides us with an opportunity to remind Americans that significant savings and tax credits are available if you need to replace a household appliance, upgrade your AC and heating system, or make other home improvements. These savings were intentionally provided by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act that we passed in 2022. The savings were supposed to be available to all Americans for 10 years, but Republicans ended them early to pay for huge tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations in their big, ugly bill. But there is still time. If you need to install new energy efficient appliance or make home improvements by the end of the year, you can save a whole bunch of money. In 2023, 3.4 million households saved over $8 billion from these tax credits. And that doesn't count the reduction in electric bills. Hardworking Americans could really use those savings as electric bills and costs continue to skyrocket. In Florida, the largest power utility in our state proposed a nearly $10 billion rate hike earlier this year. That's reported to be the largest hike in American history. And all across the country, customers are grappling with surging electric bills. And I think we have to say now, here we are in September, it's clear that Donald Trump and Republicans have broken their promise to lower costs. And their reckless policies are making life more expensive. In addition to the harsh impact of the big, ugly bill, Trump tariffs are causing pain and creating chaos.
And to add insult to injury, Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration have taken a hatchet to energy efficiency standards, which is so silly because energy efficiency saves people money. Appliance standards typically save households more than $500 on their energy bills each year. Homeowners will save $15,000 for homes built using the 2021 building codes compared to the old ones. And my neighbors back in Florida, they know firsthand about the importance of building energy codes. They keep people safe in well-insulated homes amid record heat waves like the one we experienced this summer. Families and businesses also save money when codes and design standards help their buildings stand up to strong winds and flooding and increasingly intense hurricanes. Strong building codes provide insurance companies with greater certainty in high-risk areas, allowing them to offer less costly insurance policies and saving taxpayers from becoming the insurer of last resort. Federal codes and standards are developed collaboratively with local officials, builders, manufacturers, industry, and consumer reps, and neither Congress nor the administration They don't force it on anyone. They are adopted and enforced by state and local jurisdictions, not the federal government. And when these standards are not updated, it also hurts America's global competitiveness. Modern standards increase incentives to innovate and protect domestic companies against competition from inferior projects. Now all of this, so you have the tariffs, you have the big ugly bill, you've got a war on energy efficiency, and then the president wants to eliminate EPA's Energy Star program. That's what I heard when I was home all summer. Let's make things more expensive. Let's make our appliances more expensive. Let's take that public information away from people who need it.
No. Let's be clear. Energy efficiency saves electricity, reduces consumer costs, and increases household comfort, reliability, and resilience.
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