Congress is reopening the fight over incandescent light bulbs.
Just two weeks after new federal standards that require stores to sell newer, more efficient types of light bulbs, a that would bring back the old kind.
The provision doesn’t undo the 2007 law that required incandescents be phased out — something Republican lawmakers already failed to do with bills in and . Instead, it would simply bar the government from spending any money to enforce the law.
So why is Congress spending so much time fighting over light bulbs? Among many conservatives, the ban on incandescents represents the kind of government overreach they oppose, with Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota once arguing making decisions on light bulbs.
But the fight may be mostly symbolic now.
Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the U.S., has to buy energy-efficient bulbs. The last major G.E. factory which made incandescent light bulbs in the United States . Even a monument to Thomas Edison’s original incandescent design .
In short, even if Congress does makes it harder to enforce a ban on incandescents, Americans are already flipping the switch on more energy-efficient bulbs.
