As we predicted earlier today, the repeal of the light bulb ban in the House has been defeated. By a vote of 233-193, the light of liberty has been further dimmed. To undo the ban, a 2/3 majority was needed.
10 Republicans joined with 183 Democrats to restrict the choice Americans have when it comes to purchasing light bulbs. The 10 Republicans are: Rep. Charles Bass (NH), Rep. Brian Bilbray (CA), Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ), Rep. Morgan Griffith (VA), Rep. Richard Hanna (NY), Rep. Tim Huelskamp (KS), Rep. Tom Reed (NY), Rep. Dave Reicher (WA), Rep. Scott Rigell (VA), and Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA).
With the way that House Republican leadership brought the bill to the floor, many are wondering what their motivation was. Because the vote required a 2/3 majority to pass, it would appear that House GOP leadership wanted the bill to fail. If they had wanted it to pass, why did they bring it up under suspended rules, which doomed the legislation?
If Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor support removing the ban on incandescent light bulbs, they will bring this legislation back up for a vote and require only a simple majority. If they do not, it will be clear as day that they supported the ban on incandescent light bulbs.
Please tweet the following if you can: @SpeakerBoehner and @GOPLeader need to bring the BULB Act back for a simple majority vote!