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Light Bulb Repeal Bill Stalls in Congress
Vanity | 6/12/2012 | Unknown

Posted on 06/12/2011 9:31:27 AM PDT by New Jersey Realist

As a subscriber to Newsmax I receive weekly emails from them on various topics. I found the following item concerning lightbulbs interesting enough to share:

Light Bulb Repeal Bill Stalls in Congress

"A bill to repeal the banning of ordinary incandescent light bulbs is bottled up in a congressional committee despite Americans’ apparent distaste for the more expensive bulbs that would replace them.

The 100-watt incandescent bulb is scheduled to be outlawed in January 2012, the 75-watt bulb will disappear in January 2013, and the 60-watt and 40-watt bulbs in January 2014.

The bill banning the bulbs — which use more energy than newer bulbs — was introduced in 2007 by then Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat, and Rep. Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, and signed by President George W. Bush in December 2007.

Upton is now chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and while lobbying Republicans for the post he vowed to repeal the section of the 2007 bill that bans incandescent bulbs.

“We have heard the grass roots loud and clear, and will have a hearing early next Congress,” he said in December. “The last thing we wanted to do was infringe upon personal liberties, and this has been a good lesson that Congress does not always know best.”

In January, Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton proposed the Better Use of Light Bulb (BULB) act, which would cancel the phase-out of incandescent bulbs. The bill has 62 co-sponsors, 61 of them Republicans, and a companion bill in the Senate has 28 co-sponsors.

But Upton’s committee has not yet held a hearing on the bill, and “House Republican leadership has evinced no interest in bringing the Barton bill to the floor,” Diana Furchtgott-Roth, an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute, writes in RealClearMarkets. “Calls to repeal the incandescent light bulb ban are coming from consumers, who prefer incandescent lamps." “Chairman Upton,” she adds, “how about voting Mr. Barton’s bill out of committee and sending it to the House floor?”

Once incandescent bulbs vanish, Americans will have to purchase either compact fluorescent bulbs — known as CFLs — halogens, or light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

All three cost significantly more than incandescent bulbs, although they last longer. Many people don’t like the light cast by CFLs — the cheapest of the three — and they must be disposed of at special recycling centers because they contain mercury. They also pose a danger if broken in the home.

Another factor to consider: Incandescent bulbs are made in the United States, while almost all CFLs are made in China, according to Furchtgott-Roth. She concludes: “Consumers should be free, in my opinion, to choose the light bulbs they prefer. If Congress believes that consumers should conserve energy, it can impose a tax on the model bulbs whose use it would discourage or on electricity in general.""


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: lightbulbrepeal; lightbulbs
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To: Joe 6-pack
This is all academic anyways since nobody is going to be able to afford electricity by the time the law kicks in.

Yep, we have gobs and gobs of oil in our own land and we're being erased by a drug ignorant mulatto back stabbing dictater wanabe....and his army.

The powers behind this POS started grooming him long ago. There's no other reason to hide all his records. None whatsoever. No other reason why so many media donks help keep him protected and on a pedestal.

It's going to take a miracle to get us back on our feet and have America whole again.

41 posted on 06/12/2011 11:40:02 AM PDT by TribalPrincess2U (VOTE out the RATS! Go Sarah!)
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To: New Jersey Realist

So Upton was just playing games with us? What a maroon. He needs to be primaried.


42 posted on 06/12/2011 11:49:55 AM PDT by savedbygrace (But God.)
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To: Roklok

It really pi$$es me off that I will spend hundreds of dollars to stock up...then they’ll repeal the ban. Maybe it’s Congresses secret plan to stimulate the light bulb industry.


43 posted on 06/12/2011 12:15:15 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: 9YearLurker
although Bachmann has been a great voice for conservatism, has there been any evidence she has displayed leadership in Congress - among her peers??
44 posted on 06/12/2011 12:47:40 PM PDT by elpadre (AfganistaMr Obama said the goal was to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies.)
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To: elpadre

No, I don’t think getting meaningful legislation passed has been part of her congressional resume.


45 posted on 06/12/2011 12:52:04 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: New Jersey Realist

You can get Decade Bulbs (incandescent) which will last almost ten years with 7 hours a day average use from this company that sells them to the hospitality industry. They burn just a tad less bright than standard bulbs for the given wattages so they’ll last longer.

Get ‘em while you still can!
http://www.nathosp.com/product/25k19_c/standard_incandescent_light_bulbs


46 posted on 06/12/2011 12:56:30 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
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To: New Jersey Realist
But Upton’s committee has not yet held a hearing on the bill

Same thing happened with Commiecare™.

47 posted on 06/12/2011 4:04:50 PM PDT by Libloather (The epitome of civility.)
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To: New Jersey Realist

LED lightbulbs last a very long time and they don’t have the mercury problem.


48 posted on 06/13/2011 8:05:27 PM PDT by ari-freedom (All we are saying....is give the military a chance)
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To: Jack Hydrazine

halogen light bulbs aren’t so expensive. I will probably switch to them before going the LED route....I’m not in favor of banning incand bulbs but it is an old technology and may be time to move on.


49 posted on 06/13/2011 8:10:20 PM PDT by ari-freedom (All we are saying....is give the military a chance)
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To: New Jersey Realist

They say they are about prochoice...well, I’d like to choose my lightbulb.


50 posted on 06/13/2011 8:20:59 PM PDT by HollyB
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To: ari-freedom

Yeah, but an incandescent that lasts 10 years? How can you pass that up? Halogens don’t last that long but LEDs can go way beyond if you don’t mind the cold light spectrum they produce.


51 posted on 06/13/2011 9:13:46 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine (It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine!)
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