Posted on 06/23/2011 1:16:37 AM PDT by neverdem
The bulb is back.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R.,Mich.) has finally agreed to support a bill this summer that means lights out on the looming 2012 ban on the incandescent light bulb. Upton himself co-sponsored 2007 legislation making light bulbs illegal, a ban that has become a symbol of bipartisan Big Government run amok.
Upton has come under increased pressure in recent weeks, sources say, after failing to follow up on a promise he made after assuming the committee chairmanship that he would hold hearings on reversing the ban. After months of paralysis — and with the ban just six months from going into effect on January 1 — outrage was building among his own Republican committee colleagues and conservative activists, including a national petition campaign, FreeOurLight.org, sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
“Freedom Action’s Free Our Light campaign has demonstrated that there is widespread public opposition to the light bulb ban,” says Myron Ebell, Director of Freedom Action at CEI. “We’re pleased that Chairman Upton has seen the light and congratulate him on his decision. We look forward to the House passing the bill to repeal the ban and its eventual enactment later this year.”
After Upton scheduled hearings this week featuring rent-seeking corporate fat cats that stood to benefit from the ban, anger boiled over and the chairman agreed not only to cancel the hearings but to bring up a bill repealing the ban. A source tells the Michigan View that the bill will likely be brought up under “suspension,” which means no amendments will be allowed and passage requires a two-thirds majority.
Read more at TheMichiganView.com here.
It’s not like I have to buy any incandescents for the next 10 years after all the time to prepare. Still, better than their BS ban being allowed to survive.
There are no 100 W LED light bulbs currently available.
You can now get a $25 replacement for a 40 W bulb and Philips will sell you a $50 replacement for a 60 W bulb.
CREE also claims to have a 60 W equivalent but just try to find one to buy.
Incandescent bulbs should not have been banned. BUT, CFLs are a great alternative. I use them everywhere I don't have a dimmer or can't wait a few seconds for them to warm up. Meanwhile I am saving money and energy, both in short supply these days. The mercury issue is a farce.
I agree with many here that we should have both. Let the market decide.
He is an idiot, but the Speaker of the House is even more of an idiot for giving him the chair.
Credit where credit is due. He knew what he was doing, because the chairmanship was not without opposition.
My father installed one of those circline dual bulb models in our kitchen more than 60 years ago.
In all fairness, there are many 1.5 gallon stools that work better than any of the older models. I have one that flushes perfect and even has a short flush mode for number one, and it works every time.
Ingenuity comes to the rescue again. A 3.5 inch flapper valve does wonders, but there has to have been some serious design change in the bowl itself. They are amazing to watch because you are tempted to reflush when it sounds like it short flushed. The last one I bought was at Costco for $69.00, but any super lumber store has them.
“LED lighting is the future.”
Cost prohibitive. $40-$50 each.
is Upton being paid/recieving “donations” from the patented new mercury light makers?
They don’t cost that much anymore, but they are more expensive than incandescent.
I wonder if this clown thinks we should thank him for overturning his own insanity?
I think that is why they want to undo the bad. They are trying to slow LED lights.
The idiots, like upton, did not anticipate LED lights passing the mercury CFL lights.
by undoing the ban, the free market will give the cfl’s a few years before being totally bypassed.
(does this save the easybake ovens?)
Cold comfort when your light fixtures need to become heirlooms to be economical. “For goodness sake John! Don’t forget our LED bulbs in the will!”
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