Passed
221 Yea198 Nay14 Not voting1/2 required
HJRES-20-119
Became Public Law No: 119-6.
Sponsored by Gary Palmer (R-AL)
What it does
This joint resolution, enacted into law as Public Law 119-6, nullifies a Department of Energy rule finalized on December 26, 2024, that set new energy conservation standards for consumer gas-fired instantaneous (tankless) water heaters. The rule had required these appliances to meet the maximum energy efficiency levels DOE determined were both technologically feasible and economically justified. By canceling the rule under the Congressional Review Act, Congress also prevents DOE from issuing a substantially similar rule in the future without new legislative authorization.
Who benefits
Manufacturers of gas-fired tankless water heaters who would have faced redesign and retooling costs to meet the new standards. Natural gas utilities and distributors whose customers might have switched to electric alternatives under stricter efficiency rules. Consumers who prefer lower-cost gas tankless water heater models that may not have met the new standards. Plumbers and HVAC contractors whose business depends on the continued availability of a wide range of gas appliance models. Retailers carrying existing gas appliance inventory.
Who is hurt
Consumers who would have benefited from lower long-term energy bills under more efficient appliances. Manufacturers of high-efficiency gas and electric water heater alternatives who stood to gain market share under the stricter standards. Environmental and public health advocates who supported reduced natural gas consumption. Future DOE rulemaking efforts on this specific appliance category, which are now blocked without new congressional action. Utility ratepayers broadly, to the extent reduced efficiency leads to higher aggregate energy demand.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the DOE rule, finalized in the final weeks of the prior administration, imposed significant compliance costs on manufacturers and would have effectively eliminated lower-cost gas tankless water heater models from the market, raising prices for consumers. They contend that Congress — not an executive agency — should make decisions of this economic magnitude, consistent with the major questions doctrine affirmed in West Virginia v. EPA (2022), and that the Congressional Review Act exists precisely to allow elected representatives to check agency overreach on rules with broad economic consequences.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the DOE rule was the product of a rigorous statutory process under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, in which DOE is legally required to set standards at the maximum technologically feasible and economically justified level — meaning the agency followed the law as written. They contend that blocking the rule locks in lower efficiency standards, increases consumers' long-term energy costs, and raises natural gas consumption, and that using the Congressional Review Act to permanently bar future similar rulemaking removes a tool Congress itself authorized agencies to use.
Constitutional context
The Congressional Review Act, enacted under Congress's Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause authority, gives Congress the power to disapprove agency rules. Post-Loper Bright (2024), courts independently review whether agency rules stay within statutory authority, meaning the underlying DOE rule would already have faced heightened judicial scrutiny; this resolution makes that question moot by nullifying the rule legislatively.
Checks and balances
Congress gains authority by nullifying an executive agency rule and blocking future substantially similar rules; the primary check is that Congress itself must pass new legislation to authorize any future DOE standard in this category.
Historical precedent
Congress has used the Congressional Review Act to nullify energy appliance efficiency rules before, including disapproving several Obama-era and Biden-era energy and environmental regulations between 2017 and 2025.
Passed