WASHINGTON – The U.S. House passed Congressman Gary Palmer’s resolution Thursday to repeal a Biden Administration rule that set higher efficiency standards for certain natural gas water heaters.
The joint resolution would reverse a Department of Energy rule issued in December that requires tankless gas water heaters to use less energy. The new standards would start in 2029.
Palmer’s resolution passed the House 221-198, with Alabama’s delegation voting along party lines.
Thursday’s vote represents just one of the rules House Republicans are targeting with the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn agency rules within 60 days of their publication and restricts agencies from issuing a substantially similar rule.
Palmer said the vote was a major step in giving consumers more options for water heaters and natural gas appliances.
“If that rule went into effect, you wouldn’t be able to get a tankless natural gas hot water heater, and this was another example of a Biden assault on hydrocarbon energy,” Palmer told Alabama Daily News.
Proponents of the rule said it doesn’t outright ban gas water heaters. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-NJ, said on the House floor before the vote that the standards would reduce emissions and still allow for consumer choice.
“This isn’t an effort to pull products from shelves – instead it is an effort to raise the quality of products on the shelves,” Pallone said.
The Trump Administration said it strongly supported Palmer’s resolution to overturn the water heater rule in a Statement of Administration Policy. It said the rule would make “it harder for American home owners to maintain affordable living standards.”
“We should let consumers decide what products succeed in the marketplace, not a bureaucrat implementing a regulation pushed out in the final hours of the Biden-Harris presidency,” Palmer said on the House floor.
The American Gas Association supported the effort to overturn the rule calling the decision to restrict certain gas water heaters “concerning” and “irresponsible.” The National Association of Home Builders also came out in support of Palmer’s joint resolution. The organization said the rule would create unnecessary challenges for homebuilders.
The Consumer Federation of America opposed the efforts to overturn the rule.
“Canceling tankless water heater efficiency standards isn’t about consumer choice—it’s about higher energy bills,” Courtney Griffin, director of consumer product safety, said in a statement.
The Department of Energy estimated in 2024 that the rule would save households $7.6 billion per year on their energy and water bills. While Palmer argued the rule would cost consumers more money to keep up with the new standard.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, is sponsoring the joint resolution in the Senate. It now heads to the Senate for a vote before being sent to Trump.