Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Water Heating Equipment".
Summary
What This Bill Does
H.J.Res.15 is a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution. It targets the Department of Energy rule relating to Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Water Heating Equipment and provides that the rule shall have no force or effect. The targeted rule sets commercial water-heating equipment efficiency standards, so disapproval would block those standards and leave manufacturers and buyers under the prior regulatory baseline. The practical result is not a new replacement rule; it is a congressional veto of the agency action, which can also restrict the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule without new statutory authority.
Who Benefits and How
Commercial water heating equipment manufacturers benefit because disapproval would remove or prevent the regulatory obligations created by the rule. Members of Congress opposing the rule benefit because the CRA provides a direct vehicle to nullify the agency action. Regulated parties benefit from clearer congressional opposition to the rule and less near-term implementation risk. Commercial building owners benefit if disapproval prevents higher up-front equipment costs tied to stricter standards.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Department of Energy rulemaking staff must respond to congressional disapproval and may be constrained from issuing a substantially similar rule. Energy efficiency consumers and climate advocates bear the burden if protections, standards, or program changes in the rule are blocked. Congressional oversight committees must handle the policy consequences of removing the rule without passing a replacement. Energy efficiency offices may lose expected energy-savings and emissions-reduction benefits from the rule.
Key Provisions
- Provides congressional disapproval of the Department of Energy rule relating to Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Water Heating Equipment.
- Blocks the rule by declaring that it shall have no force or effect.
- Uses the Congressional Review Act rather than ordinary notice-and-comment rulemaking.
- Restricts the agency's ability to issue a substantially similar rule unless Congress authorizes it.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Uses the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the Department of Energy rule relating to Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Water Heating Equipment, causing that rule to have no force or effect.
Key Policy Areas
Administrative Law, Congressional Review Act
Primary Purpose
Uses the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the Department of Energy rule relating to Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Water Heating Equipment, causing that rule to have no force or effect.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Commercial water heating equipment manufacturers
- Members of Congress opposing the rule
- Regulated parties
- Congressional oversight committees
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Department of Energy rulemaking staff
- Energy efficiency consumers and climate advocates
- Congressional oversight committees
- Program administrators
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Commercial water heating equipment manufacturers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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