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Department of Energy’s Proposed Regulations for Household Appliances Criticized by Republican AGs

  • Two coalitions of Republican AGs filed public comments criticizing the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposed efficiency standards for refrigerators, freezers, and clothes washers as federal overreach.
  • A group of 18 AGs have collectively signed a public comment regarding refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers, while another group comprising of 21 AGs signed a public comment relating to clothes washers. Both sets of comments criticize the DOE for relying on allegedly flawed IWG estimates of the social costs of greenhouse gases and for failure to appropriately conduct an analysis of the propriety of the rules under the federal government’s authority to regulate interstate commerce.
  • Both public comments ask the DOE to exempt intrastate commerce from the final regulations to avoid potential constitutional conflicts. They also request the DOE to consider the impact of the proposed standards on lower-income individuals and families in its analysis.