Not the same thing

So the House Republicans failed to pass HR.2417 (the lightbulb bill) last Tuesday, but then they redeemed themselves on Friday, so all’s right with the world, right?

Not so fast, Kemosabe: HR.2417 (which would have passed easily had it not been for the leadership‘s suspend-the-rules cuteness) would have repealed the 2012 lightbulb ban. Period. Gone.

Friday’s vote merely blocks the ban’s enforcement (by denying funding), but leaves Fred Upton’s 2007 efficiency standards in place.

Meaning that to keep the ban from going into effect, we will have to write (or amend) a similar restriction into every subsequent budget. Every year.

(And of course there’s always the possibility of some "public interest” group getting a court decision mandating enforcement, regardless.)

Which leaves the situation even more uncertain than the impossible conditions test that Michele Bachmann’s (HR.849) attempt would have imposed.

With the horizon stretching only as far as the next congress, you can bet that there will be no domestic investment in manufacturing old-standard bulbs. Of course, the uncertainty presents no obstacle to importing them from China.  More jobs shifted overseas!

Unfortunately, some of the smart people out there haven’t understood this wrinkle yet.

Posted by: Old Grouch in In Passing at 18:02:29 GMT | No Comments | Add Comment
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