What happened
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate the Energy Star program for energy-efficient home appliances, multiple news organizations reported Tuesday. The popular program has saved consumers and businesses more than $500 billion in energy costs since its 1992 launch under President George H.W. Bush, the EPA said in a report last year. It has also cut greenhouse gas emissions by 4 billion metric tons.
Who said what
The director of the EPA's Office of Atmospheric Protection, Paul Gunning, told an all-hands meeting on Monday that the office was being dissolved and "the Energy Star program and all the other climate work, outside of what's required by statute, is being de-prioritized and eliminated," The New York Times said, citing a recording of the meeting.
President Donald Trump "has long targeted efficiency standards for appliances," The Washington Post said. He proposed "canceling or privatizing Energy Star during his first term, but that plan didn't materialize before he left office." Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told CNN she was "baffled" by the decision, as her constituents "like knowing what the energy usage is of a particular appliance" before buying. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said to Reuters that cutting the "popular" program was "another rash attempt" by Trump's administration to "line the pockets of billionaires and utility companies."
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What next?
The EPA reorganization "will directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency's core mission, while Powering the Great American Comeback," spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said in a statement.
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