Ferguson lights up House members who voted to block light bulb ban repeal



Ferguson lights up House members who voted to block light bulb ban repeal

Ban forces consumers to buy from politically-connected ‘green’ speculators
Mercury in ‘green’ bulbs linked to birth defects
‘Green’ bulbs result in increased energy consumption

WASHINGTON – American Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson sharply criticized the 193 U.S. House members who voted Tuesday against repealing an impending national ban on incandescent light bulbs.  While a majority of members voted for repeal the bill was to be brought to the House floor under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.  The motion failed on a 233-193 vote.

Sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) H.R. 2417, the Better Use of Light Bulbs Act, repeals language in a 2007 bill the effectively bans the production of incandescent light bulbs starting in 2012.
 
“Monday’s vote by a radical minority of House members to block repeal of a national ban on light bulbs was an attack on jobs, family budgets and consumer freedom,” said Ferguson.  “You voted to punish your own constituents to fill the pockets of the ‘green’ speculators who fund many of your campaigns.”

“The light bulb ban fills homes with toxic mercury linked to birth defects, forces working families to spend more on bulbs and increases electricity consumption.  It successfully fulfills the environmentalist agenda of punishing Americans with higher prices for energy,” said Ferguson.
 
“If you are a House member who voted to ban light bulbs Monday, American Tradition Partnership’ large and growing grassroots support will hold you accountable,” said Ferguson.

A list of House members voting against repeal will be found at www.AmericanTradition.org.

“I want to personally thank Congressman Barton for sponsoring this bill to protect consumers and the public health,” said Ferguson.
Mercury, or-called “compact fluorescent,” bulbs consume more, not less, energy.  Research from the International Association for Energy-Efficient Lighting finds assembly of an incandescent bulb consumes 0.11 Kwh, but assembly of a mercury bulb consumes 16 times more energy, 1.8 Kwh.
 
Mercury bulbs also burn out quickly, often quicker than incandescent bulbs, if turned on or off.  Consumers must leave their lights on at all times to preserve the bulbs in order to avoid having to constantly buy expensive replacement bulbs.  Many mercury bulb users do this anyway, rationalizing they can afford to leave the lights on at all times assuming they are using less power.

The net result is increased energy use, the opposite of what mercury bulb advocates claim.

ATP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates.  Powered by grassroots members, ATP is a fast-growing non-profit citizens’ group dedicated to promoting rational, responsible energy and environmental policies.

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Ferguson names names. The 193 House members who voted to ban bulbs.



The following is a list of the 193 members of the U.S. House who voted Tuesday to kill jobs,  ban affordable incandescent light bulbs and force consumers to buy toxic mercury bulbs.


Ackerman
Altmire
Andrews
Baca
Baldwin
Barrow
Bass (CA)
Bass (NH)
Becerra
Berkley
Berman
Bilbray
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Boswell
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown (FL)
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardoza
Carnahan
Carney
Carson (IN)
Castor (FL)
Chandler
Chu
Cicilline
Clarke (MI)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly (VA)
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Courtney
Critz
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Donnelly (IN)
Doyle
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Frank (MA)
Fudge
Garamendi
Garrett
Gonzalez
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Griffith (VA)
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hanna
Hastings (FL)
Heinrich
Higgins
Himes
Hinojosa
Hirono
Hochul
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hoyer
Huelskamp
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson Lee (TX)
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kildee
Kind
Kissell
Kucinich
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren, Zoe
Lowey
Luján
Lynch
Maloney
Markey
Matsui
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McNerney
Meeks
Michaud
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Murphy (CT)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Olver
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Pingree (ME)
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rangel
Reed
Reichert
Reyes
Richardson
Richmond
Rigell
Ross (AR)
Rothman (NJ)
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sánchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell
Sherman
Shuler
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Stark
Sutton
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Tierney
Tonko
Towns
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Velázquez
Visclosky
Walz (MN)
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Waxman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Woolsey
Wu
Yarmuth


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