The new most important thing ever for House Republicans.
The House Republicans apparently feel they've won the Great Light Bulb War of the 2010s, so they've moved on to the next battlefield of things that really matter,
energy-efficient ceiling fans (signed into law by well-known communist energy-saving guy George W. Bush).
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-19th Century) is led the charge:
"We've already seen the federal government stretch their regulatory tentacles into our homes and determine what kind of light bulbs we have to use," Blackburn said. "Now they’re coming after our ceiling fans. It is a sad state of affairs when even our ceiling fans aren't safe from this administration."
Not coincidentally, the country's biggest ceiling fan producer—Hunter Douglas—is in her district. So you would expect the entire ceiling fan industry to be thrilled that Blackburn is representing all their interests, protecting them from evil federal regulation of their produce. Turns out, not so much.
Carey Smith, CEO of Kentucky-based Big Ass Fans, said the Bush administration adopted regulations that covered California, Maryland and New York in 2005 at the request of the ceiling fan industry. "The industry desired that there be one regulation rather than 50 different regulations. It's a heck of a lot easier to run a business if there's a single source," Smith told The Huffington Post. [...]
"From our perspective, it pays off for the consumer at the long run," he said. "Some people imagine that it's going to make fans more expensive, and anything's possible in the short run, but I don't think that that's going to be very likely."
Big Ass Fans might win this one. The White House has issued a veto threat of the House energy bill that includes Blackburn's ban on the regulations, and the Senate will probably ignore it. Meaning that the Great Ceiling Fan Wars of the teens is just beginning. U.S.A. U.S.A.