The Liberty in Laundry Act sounds like a joke. Sadly, it’s not

(Sierra Club) – The incoming Trump administration is supposedly interested in “efficiency.” It has a whole quasigovernmental department – the Elon Musk- and Vivek Ramaswamy-chaired Department of Government Efficiency – purportedly ready to take aim at government waste. So why are the very same people going to such extremes to make wasting energy one of their highest priorities?Among the final acts of the MAGA-led House of Representatives to end this Congress was the passage of the absurdly named Liberty in Laundry Act. It prohibits the Secretary of Energy from setting or enforcing energy efficiency standards for clothes washers and dryers. It is but one of several legislative attacks on energy efficient home appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators, advanced by the House’s Republican majority. While the bill may have no chance of passing in the Senate, this is a clear signal about the GOP’s backwards priorities in the next Congress.Energy efficiency simply means an appliance uses less energy to do its job. It not only can save households hundreds of dollars a year, it is one of the best – and most readily accessible – ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from homes and buildings, and mitigate our impact on the...