# H.J.Res. 42 (119th): This joint resolution eliminates new, more stringent certification, labeling, and enforcement requirements related to energy conservation standards for specific types of appliances

This joint resolution eliminates new, more stringent certification, labeling, and enforcement requirements related to energy conservation standards for specific types of appliances. Specifically, the joint resolution nullifies a rule titled the Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Certification Requirements, Labeling Requirements, and Enforcement Provisions for Certain Consumer Products and Commercial Equipment and published by the Department of Energy (DOE) on October 9, 2024. Under the rule, DOE modified its regulations on the energy efficiency of certain types of consumer products (e.g., washing machines and dishwashers) and industrial equipment (e.g., computer room air conditioners). DOE modified certification requirements, labeling requirements, and enforcement provisions for these products and equipment to (1) align reporting requirements with currently applicable energy conservation standards and test procedures, and (2) provide DOE with the information necessary to determine the appropriate classification of products for the application of standards.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: appliance_standards. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: conservation. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: energy_policy. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulatory_burden. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: regulatory_disapproval. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 59: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Roll 222: On the Motion to Proceed H.J.Res. 42. Vote type: cloture.
Roll 223: On the Joint Resolution H.J.Res. 42. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The measure is a Congressional Review Act disapproval of a technical regulatory rule. Its effects fall in a prudential area: it may reduce compliance burden and undo stricter reporting and enforcement, while also affecting energy-efficiency oversight. The bill names no direct moral harm, so the classification is mixed rather than good or evil.
Theological note: Scripture grounds civil authority in justice and stewardship of creation, and both regulatory burden and energy conservation fall under prudential governance. This measure is relevant mainly as a question of how far federal rules should bind commerce and whether agency reporting and enforcement changes serve honest, orderly stewardship. It does not clearly restrain or advance a named moral harm.

## Recorded votes

Roll 59: On Passage. Yea 222 · Nay 203 · Other 7.
Roll 222: On the Motion to Proceed H.J.Res. 42. Yea 52 · Nay 46 · Other 2.
Roll 223: On the Joint Resolution H.J.Res. 42. Yea 52 · Nay 46 · Other 2.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hjres-42-119/