House overturns Biden-era efficiency regulations on freezers, refrigerators

House lawmakers have approved a measure that overturns Biden-era efficiency restrictions targeting freezers and refrigerators.

The regulations, finalized at the end of former President Joe Biden’s presidency, set stricter rules for commercial refrigerators and freezers along with walk-in coolers. The Biden administration argued these standards would lower consumer energy costs.

Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., who authored the measure, argued the regulations harmed small businesses and food banks.

“These regulations will impose significant financial burdens on small businesses which will have to absorb major upgrade costs to meet these new aggressive standards,” she said on the House floor on Thursday.

Bice also said she had received a statement of support from President Donald Trump approving her measure.

Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., slammed her Republican colleagues over the measure, arguing it would have a negative effect in the long term.

“The absurdity never end in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives,” she said. “The Republicans in Congress, instead of prioritizing lowering costs for working people, instead of prioritizing lowering costs for small businesses, they want to repeal a rule that actually lowers costs for small businesses by guaranteeing that their commercial refrigerators and walk-in refrigerators are more energy efficient.

“What are we doing here?”

Also speaking out was Rep. Joe Neguse, D- Colo.

“No constituent of mine approached me at the town hall we held three days ago, with over a thousand people in my community, no one in that town hall said ‘congressman, can you please go back to Washington and pass legislation on commercial refrigerators?’” he said.

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