The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee (established 1795) in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee. Today, the committee has responsibility for matters including telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce among others. The committee is led by Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (NJ-06). E&C Website: https://energycommerce.house.gov E&C X: https://x.com/HouseCommerce E&C Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/energyandcommerce/ E&C Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/energyandcommerce/
yield myself as much time as I
may consume.
>> The gentleman is recognized.
>> Under the previous
administration, American
consumers were subjected to
Washington's constant
micromanagement of appliances
and equipment in their homes
and businesses. In fact, the
biden-harris administration
finalized more than 30 new or
amended energy efficiency
standards totaling over $60
billion in costs and regulating
nearly every appliance in
Americans homes. Part of this
effort focused on complicating
the definition of a showerhead
by prohibiting multi nozzle
shower systems. If the host
system collectively delivers
more than 2.5 gallons of water
per minute, instead of
following the straightforward
statutory definition of a
showerhead, the new, highly
bureaucratic definition was
amazing. 13,000 words in length
and a novel interpretation.
This resulted in shower systems
with more than one nozzle
having a lower flow rate
compared to individual
showerheads. Additionally, this
definition is misleading to
consumers looking to buy multi
nozzle shower systems for the
purpose of increasing water
flow. President trump has taken
executive action to restore the
regulatory definitions and
standards to the law's original
intent by allowing a maximum of
water use of 2.5 gallons per
minute for each faucet in a
shower system. H.R. 4593 would
codify president trump's
definition by allowing the the
2.5 maximum flow rate to apply
to each nozzle in the shower
system. This legislation will
ensure manufacturers like delta
faucet in my district are not
subjected to morgantown,
Kentucky, are not subjected to
the swing of the political
pendulum with ever changing
interpretations of the law.
Further this the legislation is
simple and pro-consumer choice.
It is unfortunate that my
colleagues on the other side of
the aisle are seeking more
regulation for its own sake and
limiting the choices of
American consumers. If an
individual wants low water
pressure, they have a variety
of options. They can purchase a
single nozzle showerhead, or
they can simply turn down the
faucet. It's that simple. But
those choices must be left to
individual Americans and not to
Washington. H.R. 493 would
bring regulatory certainty to
manufacturers, performance
effectiveness to a household
appliance we all use in choice
to American consumers. Urge my
