Bob Woods of CNBC quoted Nick Loris on the Energy Star program.
“I’m a big proponent of energy efficiency, but I don’t think we need the federal government overriding the choices and preferences that consumers may have when purchasing an appliance,” said Nick Loris, vice president of public policy for C3 Solutions, a conservative energy think tank. He said rolling back EPCA standards is “a step forward in reducing government intervention into decisions that should be best left for producers and consumers.”
Where legal challenges are headed
As with a mounting number of actions taken by the Trump administration this year — from tariffs to immigration — tinkering with EPCA is expected to be challenged in federal courts. The law includes a so-called anti-backsliding provision, which prevents rolling back standards that have already been finalized. A 2004 case deLaski referred to, NRDC v. Abraham, upheld the provision. “Once a DOE standard has been updated and published in the Federal Register, you can’t go backward,” he said of the precedent.
