Posted on 06/23/2008 8:25:30 AM PDT by Turret Gunner A20
WASHINGTON – Members of Congress are beginning to have second thoughts about the ban on incandescent light bulbs effective in 2014 as a result of an energy bill signed into law earlier this year. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, says his objection is very basic – the Constitution doesn’t authorize Congress to do anything remotely like banning a product that has been used safely and efficiently for more than 100 years in favor of Chinese-imported compact fluorescent light bulbs that pose considerable health and safety risks.
Extensive cleanup is required by the Environmental Protection Agency for simply breaking a bulb. When a bulb, which contains mercury, is broken, according to the EPA, the room must be evacuated for 15 minutes and aired out with windows, but not before all glass is removed, placed in a sealed glass jar and disposed of outside. Any remaining glass must be picked up with tape. In addition, central heating or air conditioning units must be turned off.
Wait… Environmental Protection Agency must be called for a broken bulb?
(Excerpt) Read more at sayanythingblog.com ...
And the Congressman is probably right.
Should have stopped after the word "product".
Wait... you mean our Founding Fathers didn’t give Congress the authority to tell citizens what products they are allowed to purchase?!
Buyer’s remorse from a bunch of idiots.
“Extensive cleanup is required by the Environmental Protection Agency for simply breaking a bulb. When a bulb, which contains mercury, is broken, according to the EPA, the room must be evacuated for 15 minutes and aired out with windows, but not before all glass is removed, placed in a sealed glass jar and disposed of outside. Any remaining glass must be picked up with tape. In addition, central heating or air conditioning units must be turned off.
Wait… Environmental Protection Agency must be called for a broken bulb?”
The EPA does not have a mandate to regulate private property owners. Sweep it up and throw it in the trash. Nuff done, nuff said.
About d-— time. And, there is a bunch of other stuff they have legislated that also is unconstitutional.
Every fluorescent bulb contains mercury. Each time a bulb breaks, every office in the U.S. would have to shut down if this were true. The amount in each bulb is minute.
Of course, only a complete moron would call a govt agency in for any reason, under any circumstances. It would give some squinty-eyed beaurocrat the perfect opportunity to condemn someone’s house for dropping a case of the damn things.
Show me where Congress has the right to enact welfare transfer payments, become involved in housing projects, rule the country's educational system, require minority quotas, fund health care benefits, and generally ignore the 9th and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Why start with light bulbs when there is so much more that needs to be fixed first?
A fellow I was acquainted with 15 years ago killed himself after constant legal battering by the EPA for having old tires on his farm. His family had used them to shore up land since before the war. I guess farms aren't private property.
Now, how about that toilet water capacity mandate?
I told a greenie that I had the solution to the energy problems in America. He was intrigued.
I said, after the 1.5 gal toilet law, and the ban on lightbulbs,
we could simply hook up generators to the American founders spinning in their graves.
You mean they can't find anything in the General Welfare clause, or the Commerce clause?
-PJ
Hey, ANY law that they start looking at opens the door for someone to point fingers at other things, like the ones you mentioned.
It takes a little longer for those CFL’s to flicker on above some people’s thick heads.
Here is the real rub. After 2014, we will have the bulb police to inspect every home, business, etc. to make sure compliance. Some places this miracle bulb just is not efficient and not configured in size to work. What then? This is pure liberal BS.
Lightbulbs are shipped across state lines, so they are subject to regulation under the Interstate Commerce Clause.
This is what they use to justify EVERYTHING.
The founders CLEARLY meant that the feds could intervene only when there was a dispute between the states.
AMEN!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.