[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 32 (Monday, February 29, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1006-H1008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EPS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2016

  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4444) to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to 
exclude power supply circuits, drivers, and devices designed to be 
connected to, and power, light-emitting diodes or organic light-
emitting diodes providing illumination from energy conservation 
standards for external power supplies, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4444

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``EPS Improvement Act of 
     2016''.

     SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARDS TO 
                   CERTAIN EXTERNAL POWER SUPPLIES.

       (a) Definition of External Power Supply.--Section 
     321(36)(A) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
     U.S.C. 6291(36)(A)) is amended--
       (1) by striking the subparagraph designation and all that 
     follows through ``The term'' and inserting the following:
       ``(A) External power supply.--
       ``(i) In general.--The term''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(ii) Exclusion.--The term `external power supply' does 
     not include a power supply circuit, driver, or device that is 
     designed exclusively to be connected to, and power--

       ``(I) light-emitting diodes providing illumination;
       ``(II) organic light-emitting diodes providing 
     illumination; or
       ``(III) ceiling fans using direct current motors.''.

       (b) Standards for Lighting Power Supply Circuits.--
       (1) Definition.--Section 340(2)(B) of the Energy Policy and 
     Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6311(2)(B)) is amended by 
     striking clause (v) and inserting the following:
       ``(v) electric lights and lighting power supply 
     circuits;''.
       (2) Energy conservation standard for certain equipment.--
     Section 342 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 
     U.S.C. 6313) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g) Lighting Power Supply Circuits.--If the Secretary, 
     acting pursuant to section 341(b), includes as covered 
     equipment solid state lighting power supply circuits, 
     drivers, or devices described in section 321(36)(A)(ii), the 
     Secretary may prescribe under this part, not earlier than 1 
     year after the date on which a test procedure has been 
     prescribed, an energy conservation standard for such 
     equipment.''.
       (c) Technical Corrections.--
       (1) Section 321(6)(B) of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 6291(6)(B)) is amended by striking ``(19)'' 
     and inserting ``(20)''.
       (2) Section 324 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 6294) is amended by striking ``(19)'' each place 
     it appears in each of subsections (a)(3), (b)(1)(B), (b)(3), 
     and (b)(5) and inserting ``(20)''.
       (3) Section 325(l) of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(l)) is amended by striking ``paragraph 
     (19)'' each place it appears and inserting ``paragraph 
     (20)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the floor today H.R. 4444, the 
EPS Improvement Act of 2016.
  I want to give special thanks to our colleagues, Renee Ellmers of 
North Carolina, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Doris 
Matsui of California, and Mr. Charles Dent of Pennsylvania, for their 
work on this piece of legislation.
  I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. 
Ellmers).
  Mrs. ELLMERS of North Carolina. I thank the chairman for yielding on 
this specific issue and for leading our subcommittee of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4444, 
the EPS Improvement Act of 2016. This bipartisan bill would provide 
certainty to North Carolina lighting manufacturers that provide over 
3,000 jobs in my home State. H.R. 4444 will resolve the underlying 
issues of the Department of Energy External Power Supply rule.
  In 2005, Congress directed the Department of Energy to develop energy 
efficiency standards for external power supplies. The DOE initially 
stated that products intended to be covered by these standards 
``convert household electric current into DC or lower voltage AC to 
operate consumer products such as a laptop computer or a smartphone.''
  Years after the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, new 
technologies such as OLED and LED drivers were introduced into the 
marketplace. While the development of these drivers increased energy 
efficiency, it has also caused uncertainty in the manufacturing sector. 
This is because DOE roped in drivers as products to also be covered 
under the EPS rule.
  DOE is now attempting to regulate a product that was not in the 
marketplace at the time Congress initially directed the Department to 
set external power supply standards. Both manufacturers and the energy 
efficiency community agree that this was and is not the intent of 
Congress.
  DOE has continued with this misguided rule despite the distinct 
difference in the design and use of LED drivers to that of the design 
and use of EPS. One example demonstrating the difference is that EPS 
uses single-stage power conversion while LED drivers use a two-stage 
power conversion.
  Thankfully, H.R. 4444 is a promanufacturing, proconsumer piece of 
legislation that resolves this problem. It will exclude certain 
technologies from being included in other broad rulemakings.
  I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives DeGette, Pompeo, 
Matsui, and Dent for their leadership on this important issue.
  Additionally, I would like to thank Chairman Whitfield and the Energy 
and Power Subcommittee staff for their time and efforts in advancing 
this legislation.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H1007]]

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleagues on the Energy and 
Commerce Committee--Mrs. Ellmers and Ms. DeGette, in particular--as 
well as all of my other colleagues who worked on H.R. 4444, the EPS 
Improvement Act of 2016.
  This bipartisan piece of legislation would exclude the drivers that 
power light-emitting diodes, commonly known as LEDs, and direct-current 
ceiling fans from DOE's energy conservation standards for external 
power supplies.
  Mr. Speaker, in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress directed DOE 
to establish conservation standards for external power supplies used to 
convert household electric current into DC current or lower voltage AC 
current.
  At the time, external power supplies were almost exclusively the kind 
of wall chargers used to power laptops, cell phones, and other similar 
consumer devices.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. Speaker, in 2005, LED lighting was in its infancy stages. LED 
lamps were not even on the market then, nor were they available in 
2007, when Congress amended the definition of external power supply in 
the Energy Independence Act of 2007.
  However, in just over a decade, Mr. Speaker, LED and other high-
efficiency, solid-state lighting products have become widely available. 
These lights provide significant energy-efficiency cost savings to 
consumers when compared with traditional light bulbs.
  LEDs get swept up in the energy conservation standards for external 
power supplies because they are powered by solid-state lighting drivers 
that bear superficial similarities to the kind of chargers that 
Congress directed DOE to set standards for.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, one might ask, if these LEDs are so efficient, how 
is it that their drivers cannot meet the energy conservation standards 
for external power supplies?
  Well, this is simply because in order to comply with the standards, 
an external power supply must be tested when it is disconnected from 
the object it is powering.
  For example, Mr. Speaker, a laptop power supply would have to be 
tested when it is disconnected from the laptop. LED drivers are not 
designed to operate when disconnected from LEDs, and so they cannot be 
tested in the same way as other external power supplies.
  This means that even though they are indeed very energy efficient, 
they cannot comply with the standards. The same is true of a new 
generation of energy-efficient ceiling fans.
  Mr. Speaker, to be sure, this legislation still holds these devices 
accountable to energy and conservation standards. H.R. 4444 makes DOE's 
authority to prescribe separate energy and conservation standards for 
LED drivers explicit.
  Ceiling fans with the direct current motors would still be required 
to meet DOE energy conservation standards for ceiling fans.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill before 
us.
  I ask unanimous consent to yield the balance of my time to the 
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), and that she may control that 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers other than 
myself, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to add my thanks to those of my colleague, Mrs. 
Ellmers. I want to also thank Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Pallone. I 
want to thank Chairman Whitfield and Ranking Member Rush, Ms. Matsui, 
Mr. Pompeo, Mr. Dent, and Mrs. Capps, all for supporting this important 
measure.
  This bill updates the DOE's energy conservation standards to keep 
with the innovations that have taken place over the last decade in 
household and commercial lighting.
  While the latest lighting may look similar on the exterior, it 
actually runs on new and exciting technology. Frankly, as you have 
heard from the other speakers, we need to update our regulatory scheme 
to keep these innovations going.
  Specifically, when the Energy and Commerce Committee wrote the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act of 2005, it directed the Department of 
Energy to develop a conservation standard for external power supply 
products.
  Because of the inadvertently broad definition we created for external 
power supplies, emerging LED drivers were swept up into a standard 
that, as you have heard so eloquently from the other speakers, just 
doesn't make any sense.
  That means that, although LED drivers are highly energy-efficient, 
they can't meet the EPS conservation standard, and their ability to 
compete in the competitive lighting market is now an open question.
  Now, this might seem like a technicality, but in the real world, this 
bill is vitally important. Just last week, for example, General 
Electric and JPMorgan Chase rang the closing bell at the New York Stock 
Exchange to announce a deal for the world's largest single-order 
installation of LED lighting.
  GE will install LED lighting at 5,000 JPMorgan Chase bank branches 
this year, which will cut the bank's lighting bill in half. But unless 
we pass this bill quickly, the new lighting at JPMorgan Chase locations 
technically won't meet basic efficiency standards.
  It is urgent that we pass this bill now and that we pass it quickly 
through the other body because these new efficiency standards are going 
into effect. And while everybody agrees LED lighting is important, we 
are still coming against the letter of the law.
  And so that is why I want to thank everybody on both sides of the 
aisle for realizing how incredibly important this is.
  By passing the EPS Improvement Act of 2016, we will let the LED 
lighting revolution continue. We will help lower energy prices for 
every American business and household, and will continue our goal of 
more and more efficient energy.
  Mr. Speaker, if my friend across the aisle still has no speakers, I 
yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).
  Mrs. CAPPS. I thank my colleague for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4444. This overdue 
legislation is critically important to ensure that the innovation and 
implementation of LED technologies continues.
  Our Nation has made great strides toward the production of accessible 
and affordable clean energy. To continue this momentum, we must do all 
we can to embrace and support technologies that strive to improve 
energy efficiency.
  In so doing, we must support efforts toward greater energy efficiency 
by supporting technologies that use fewer resources for the same or 
better results. This allows us to balance our energy consumption with 
the need to protect the global environment. And that is exactly what 
this bill does.

  When it comes to the lighting sector, LED technologies are at the 
forefront of meeting the efficiency demand. This technology is 
drastically reducing the energy required to provide light in both 
residential and industrial settings throughout the country and around 
the world.
  While the reach of this technology is amazingly broad, LEDs are 
incredibly important to my district as well. There is a long history of 
researching, developing and innovating LEDs technologies in academia, 
industry, and nonprofits along the central coast of California.
  The University of California Santa Barbara continues to lead the way 
in research to improve upon the light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, as we 
know them.
  Furthermore, UCSB is fortunate to employ one of the leading 
researchers in the world, Dr. Shuji Nakamura, who was awarded the Nobel 
Prize for his work on LEDs.
  And Cree Lighting, which translates this research into employable 
technologies has a facility in my district where they are continuing to 
develop cutting-edge applications for LEDs.
  The promise of this technology really is a game changer. In fact, the 
Institute for Energy Efficiency at UC Santa Barbara has worked with the 
nonprofit Unite for Light to provide reading lights to people across 
the world, replacing dangerous kerosene lamps still

[[Page H1008]]

used in places where electricity is not available with solar charged 
LED reading lights.
  You know, I have one of these little reading lights in my home. They 
are about 12 inches tall. This is Unite for Light. Instead of a power 
cord plugging into the wall, they have two little solar panels at the 
base.
  If you set them in the sunlight during the day, then you have the 
ability in the evening, then a child in a Third World country, or some 
person who needs to do work or homework at night, can take this little 
lamp, reading light, and use it to further their employment, their 
education until we get the infrastructure in place to do that itself.
  So there is no doubt that LEDs are an important technology to change 
lighting, as we know it, providing an accessible and efficient source 
of illumination.
  H.R. 4444 ensures that the important research and development of LED 
technologies, such as the activities in my district, will be able to 
continue and that LEDs will be able to efficiently light the world 
around us.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, having no other speakers, I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I want to thank all of those involved in bringing forth this 
legislation. We are all excited about it.
  It does teach each one of us a lesson, though, and that is, sometimes 
we pass legislation, and we use language a little bit too broad; and 
the regulatory agencies take that and run. And now we see them trying 
to regulate something that was not even in existence when the 2005 
Energy Policy Act was adopted.
  I don't think that many Members of Congress or the American people 
ever thought that the Department of Energy would be setting efficiency 
standards for ceiling fans, for microwave ovens, refrigerators.
  It reminds me of that Dire Straits song, and I hope you all liked 
them as much I did, but they had this song entitled ``Money for 
Nothing'' and the chicks are free. They talked about the importance of 
moving microwave ovens, refrigerators, and color TVs.
  We find ourselves today living in a world in which everything is so 
micromanaged, and this is an example of that action. We understand we 
need regulations, but I am glad that we have a group of Democrats and 
Republicans coming together with common sense to say to the Department 
of Energy, hey, we need some balance here.
  I would urge passage of this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4444.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________