HJRES42-119

What This Bill Does

This joint resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to nullify a Department of Energy rule for the Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards, published at 89 Fed. Reg. 81994 on October 9, 2024. The rule concerned certification requirements, labeling requirements, and enforcement provisions for certain consumer products and commercial equipment. If disapproved, that DOE rule has no force or effect and the department is restricted from issuing a substantially similar replacement without new authorization.

Who Benefits and How

Appliance manufacturers, commercial equipment manufacturers, importers, and compliance departments benefit because the resolution removes the specific DOE certification, labeling, and enforcement rule. They avoid adapting product documentation, labeling systems, certification filings, testing support, and enforcement-response processes to that rule. Retailers and distributors may also benefit if covered products face fewer compliance-related delays or relabeling costs.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Energy appliance standards program bears the burden because it loses the rule it planned to use for certification, labeling, and enforcement administration. Consumers, energy-efficiency advocates, and state energy offices may be hurt if weaker certification or labeling oversight makes it harder to compare covered products or enforce energy-conservation standards consistently. DOE would need a different rulemaking path or congressional authorization for a substantially similar framework.

Key Provisions

• Blocks the DOE appliance-standards certification, labeling, and enforcement rule published on October 9, 2024.
• Limits DOE from enforcing that rule or issuing a substantially similar replacement without congressional authorization.
• Directs the practical effect toward reducing compliance-system changes for covered consumer-product and commercial-equipment manufacturers.