The House of Representatives passed a Republican bill Tuesday preventing new energy efficiency standards for washing machines unless new regulations are “cost-effective or technologically feasible.”

The measure adds to recent efforts by the GOP to highlight opposition to new regulations for home appliances and advance legislation to block such rules implemented or considered by the Biden administration.

Representatives voted 215 to 200 to pass the Liberty in Laundry Act, introduced by Tennessee Rep. Andrew Ogles (R). The act would prevent the Department of Energy from implementing or enforcing new energy conservation standards for washing machines that are not cost-effective or technologically feasible.

The bill is in response to the DOE finalizing new updated standards for residential clothes washers and dryers earlier this year. The new standards are aimed at cutting energy costs and pollution. The DOE said it expects the new standards to save Americans $39 billion in energy and water bills over the next three decades. It added the regulations are expected to reduce nearly 71 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. 

“I have spent much of my time in Congress fighting back the federal government’s vast overreach into the lives of hardworking Americans,” Ogles said in a statement. He added that the DOE’s new standards are “woke, ‘environmental’ nonsense.”

“Americans should be able to do their laundry in peace without the input of Big Brother,” Ogles said.

A message to House Democrats before the vote from Democratic Whip Katherine Clark noted that the bill “completely ignores the agreement on standards that home appliance manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates reached in September 2023.” 

Kelly Mariotti, president and CEO of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, said in the 2023 agreement that the DOE’s standards would “allow home appliance manufacturers to continue to offer a complete range of energy-efficient products with the features consumers depend on in every home, every day.” 

The House Republican majority has been aggressive about passing bills to prevent regulation of household appliances, most in the case of gas stoves. The effort to protect gas stoves came after a regulator raised the prospect of a federal ban and academics raised concerns about unhealthy emissions and their effects on human health. Some Democratic-run cities and states have moved to regulate gas stoves