Dive Brief:

• House Republicans have added a rider to the House omnibus spending bill that will block the Department of Energy (DOE) from enforcing federal light bulb standards, which effectively ban incandescent bulbs.
• The American Council For an Energy-Efficient Economy contends that removing DOE's enforcement authority would have no direct effect because bulb manufacturers are already making bulbs to meet the new standards.
• However, the rider could open the door to foreign bulb makers importing bulbs that don't meet the standards, which would hurt the domestic bulb industry.

Dive Insight:

The final phase-in of the light bulb standards took effect this month so the only incandescent bulbs that can be sold are ones that are already stocked. House Republicans have tried to block the light bulb standards before and there is no reason to think they will succeed this time.