Washington (May 12, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement after Trump’s Department of Energy (DOE) announced 47 deregulatory actions, including the rollback of dozens of appliance efficiency standards covering everything from refrigeration equipment to air conditioners. Senator Markey was the original author of the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987, which authorized the DOE to establish and update minimum efficiency standards for 13 original product categories. Today, the program has grown to include more than 60 categories.

“With Trump causing massive economic anxiety for families around the country, he's now declaring war on America’s kitchens,” said Senator Markey. “He is putting the deep freeze on dozens of updated appliance standards for refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, and dishwashers that are helping Americans save energy, save water, save money, and save the planet. I passed the appliance efficiency standards nearly four decades ago, and they have become some of the most efficient and effective climate and cost savings provisions on the books today. These standards already save households an average of $500 a year on utility bills and are projected to save consumers $1.9 trillion by 2035. They’re also expected to reduce emissions by two billion metric tons over 30 years. We don’t need ridiculous Republican refrigerator freedom; we need freedom from polluting fossil fuels.” 

The Biden administration’s updates to appliance standards alone were projected to save households an average of $107 on utility bills each year, and businesses more than $2 billion annually. The Trump administration’s announcement to dismantle them threatens that progress. Following the repeal of four updated appliance efficiency rules from Republicans’ use of the Congressional Review Act that Trump signed into law on Friday, today’s proposed regulatory rollbacks would either revert product standards to levels originally set in statute decades ago or eliminate the standards entirely.

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