Fairfax, VA, July, 8th, 2011—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged passage of HR 2417, a bill that would repeal the federal ban on incandescent light bulbs that begins to take effect in Jan. 2012.
“The American people don’t want the federal government telling them which light bulbs they must use, and yet that is exactly what Congress did when it passed the ‘Energy Independence and Security Act’ in 2007,” Wilson said.
“The federal government has no power to micromanage the decisions of the American people, and to force them by dictate to use unsafe, mercury-laced bulbs,” Wilson added.
A poll released by ALG on the light bulb ban issue shows the ban remains exceedingly unpopular, especially amongst both core Republican and Independent likely voters. 72 percent of self-described Republican voters and 57 percent of the Independent voters oppose the ban.
“Unless you’re a leftist Democrat, there really is no support for a federal ban on light bulbs,” Wilson noted.
Conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, the survey showed that 46 percent of likely voters were aware that Congress had banned traditional light bulbs beginning in 2012, and 58 percent respondents opposed banning the bulbs.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on HR 2417, “The BULB Act.”
The June 21, 2011 survey measured the responses of 1,000 likely voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
The topline responses to the three questions can be found at:
www.getliberty.org/files/LightBulbBanBillToplines6-21-11.pdf
The crosstabs can be found at:
www.getliberty.org/files/Crosstabs_20110621_Light Bulbs.csv
Wilson concluded, “It’s time for Congress to get out of the way and let individuals choose what kind of light bulbs they want, free of federal dictates.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
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