A Bunch Of Dim Bulbs

House Republicans have decided to defund the provision in the most recent energy bill that enforces the removal of incandescent 100 watt lightbulbs, calling it a victory for choice and freedom.

House Republicans, led by Texans Michael Burgess and Joe Barton, have been on a tear to undo the bulb provision, and though a Barton-led effort failed earlier in the week, Burgess' success opens the door for more.


Environmentalists and Democratic supporters, as well as some Republicans, are upset that gains in efficiency are at risk.

During the House debate, Burgess warned that "starting January 1, if Home Depot or your local grocery store has the 100-watt bulb in their inventory, they will not be allowed to sell them. That means they will take all 100-watt bulbs off the shelf, and they will never see the consumer. My amendment will allow the stores to continue to sell what they have in stock. The 2007 provision never said that these companies could not make the bulb; it said that they couldn't be sold."


"Further," Burgess said, "if a manufacturer should choose to continue to make 100-watt bulbs, they would be permitted under this language, as there is clearly a market based on the thousands of consumers who have contacted Congress upset about their inability to buy 100-watt light bulbs. This is about the consumer driving the market, not the federal government deciding the market."

Barton, who's been one of the most visible opponents of the bulb requirement, said of the House vote: "It is the first step in restoring consumer choice and ending government intrusion into our homes."

House Republicans then remarked how giving Americans choices on lightbulbs removing government intrusion in your selection of lighting is far more important than giving women the choice of what to do with their own reproductive systems or who people can marry, because that requires as much government intervention and removal of freedom as possible.