Bachmann: Americans should have the freedom to choose … light bulbs

Image has not been found. URL: http://images.americanindependent.com/2010/08/MahurinElephant_Thumb.jpgMinnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann reintroduced legislation in the U.S House Tuesday to repeal the 2007 law mandating incandescent light bulbs be phased out in favor of compact fluorescent light bulbs by Jan. 1, 2012.

Her resolution, Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, comes two months after Texas Rep. Joe Barton’s Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, which also seeks to repeal the portion of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that ultimately calls for the incandescent light bulb phase-out.

Barton’s bill has 28 co-sponsors; Bachmann’s has four.

The Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act would repeal the incandescent light bulb phase-out, “unless the Comptroller General makes certain specific findings.”

Bachmann’s resolution demands that the comptroller general prove the following:

• Consumers will see a net savings, in terms of dollars spent on monthly electric bills and expenses for new light fixtures, compared to dollars spent on incandescent lightbulbs.
• The phase-out will reduce overall carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. by 20 percent by 2025.
• The phase-out will not pose any health risks, including risks associated with mercury containment in certain lightbulbs, to consumers or the general public.

Additionally, the comptroller general’s report would have to include monthly and yearly projections of expenses between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2017.

“The government has no business telling an individual what kind of light bulb to buy,” said Bachmann in a Wednesday press release. “In 2007, Congress overstepped its bounds by mandating that only ‘energy efficient’ light bulbs may be sold after January 1, 2012. This mandate has sweeping effects on American families and businesses and needs serious consideration before taking effect.”

The American Independent reported this week that, according to U.S. Department of Energy, replacing incandescent bulbs with an energy-efficient bulb would result in $7 in energy savings for the consumer, but if the market share for CLFs were to increase from its current 30 percent to 100 percent, power companies could potentially see a yearly loss of $26 billion.