The House and Senate have been working at a break-neck pace this year. Both chambers have passed separate versions of a budget resolution — the first step toward a reconciliation package. The Senate has also confirmed all but one of President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees in record time. With all this excitement, it is easy to miss some of the seemingly small but mighty bills that undo parts of Biden’s leftover agenda. The House moved on two of those items this week.
Congress has a unique power through the Congressional Review Act to overturn rules that an agency has published by voting on a resolution that requires only a simple majority to pass. Republicans have used this frequently in recent years, even gaining Democrat support at times. However, former President Joe Biden never shared the same sentiments. This year, with a Republican majority in the House and Senate alongside President Donald Trump, Republican lawmakers can knock out some terrible Biden-era regulations that have bogged American families down.
This week, the House voted to repeal two of Biden’s energy-related rules. The first to come to a vote was Representative August Pfluger’s (R-TX) H.J. Res. 35 which eliminates the Biden-era natural gas tax. This rule was ironically rooted in the Inflation Reduction Act — a bill to reduce inflation rather than taking more money out of people’s pockets. The bill appropriated $1.6 billion for climate change-related grants and taxed methane emissions at oil and gas facilities. These actions cause hard-working Americans to lose their jobs and companies to raise prices on consumers. In a press release, Rep. Pfluger commented:
President Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels hurt the hardworking energy producers of my district who have worked diligently to increase production while fueling our allies abroad. If implemented, the ill-conceived natural gas tax will handicap technological innovation, reduce supplies of affordable energy, and increase both costs and emissions. I am proud to lead this CRA to rescind implementation of the natural gas tax.
H.J. Res. 35 passed the House on Wednesday by a 220-206 vote. The Senate already has a companion bill (S.J. Res. 12) sponsored by Senator John Hoeven (R-ND).
The second resolution was Representative Gary Palmer’s (R-AL) H.J. Res. 20 which will overturn the Biden Department of Energy’s (DOE) rule restricting gas-powered water heaters. The DOE mandated that every new manufactured water heater contains an automatic fuel switch effectively limiting the amount of gas used. This is problematic for households across the country. A one-size-fits-all plan does not work when some homes are in colder climates.
Originally, the DOE estimated that this would cost consumers an additional $231 per water heater, but they were severely off-course. The industry countered that cost at an additional $450-665 per unit. Around 40% of users would see a cost increase while those who are lucky enough to see some sort of savings would only receive $5.60 per year. Water heaters would need to last 100 years to break even from the increased costs.
Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), a co-sponsor of the bill, called the rule “another green energy scam” and stated to Fox News:
This latest assault on American consumers isn’t about saving the planet; it’s about control, higher costs, and forcing an unsustainable, radical agenda on every household. It’s time we stand up against this tyranny of regulations and protect the freedoms and choices of the American people.
On Thursday, the House passed H.J. Res. 20 with a vote of 221-198, including 11 Democrats who crossed the aisle to support the resolution. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has introduced the companion bill (S.J. Res. 4) in the Senate.
Eagle Forum sent a letter to Congress this week in support of both resolutions and will add these votes to our Congressional Scorecard. We update our scorecard throughout the year as lawmakers cast votes for various legislation. Visit our website here to see how your Representatives and Senators have voted.
