The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE ENERGY STANDARD” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H6517 on June 19, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE ENERGY STANDARD
(Mr. GILLMOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GILLMOR. Mr. Speaker, today the House will debate the interior appropriations bill. While I support many of the provisions of this bill, I do have serious concerns in at least one area. Nearly 20 years ago, Congress asked the Energy Department to set energy efficiency standards for home appliances. This was an effort to stem the unnecessarily rapid rate of energy consumption in this country. By establishing national standards for everyone to use, a valuable measuring stick was created to permit manufacturers to commit time, investment and engineering resources. However, this was all placed on hold in our spending bill in 1996 which put a moratorium on rulemaking.
While I have never been one to support increased regulation, this issue should have been handled better. Congress ought not be in the business of artificially manipulating a steady market once it is established. Yet this is exactly what the appropriations bill report language purports to do.
Second, the issue of energy standard should be dealt with through the Committee on Commerce, the committee of jurisdiction. What the committee is attempting to do is to interfere in the economic marketplace.
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