Flushing Federal Regulations Down The (Low-Flo) Toilet

Washington, DC, July 27, 1999 – Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) policy analyst Ben Lieberman, representing CEI and 8 other members of the National Consumer Coalition (NCC), will present testimony in support of HR 623, a bill that would repeal a 1992 federal law requiring that all new toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. “The current law is highly unpopular with consumers and is completely unnecessary,” says Lieberman.

Since the law took effect in 1994, millions of Americans, whether buying a new house or replacing an existing toilet, have had to deal with these new water-stingy models that do not work as well as their predecessors, yet cost more. The result has been perhaps the strongest grassroots backlash against a product in recent years.

The Energy and Power subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), will hear testimony from Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), the sponsor of the bill, as well as Mr. Lieberman and others.

The hearing is scheduled to take place on July 27 at 2:00pm in 2322 Rayburn.

CEI, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group founded in 1984, is dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. For more information, please contact Emily McGee, director of media relations, at 202-331-1010.