More than 1,000 companies, cities and organizations sent a letter to EPA on Friday urging support for the Energy Star program — which provides efficiency seals of approval to appliances and buildings — as the agency prepares for deep funding cuts.
The letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, first obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News, comes as the fate of the program remains uncertain. During his first administration, President Donald Trump proposed eliminating the program in 2017 before suggesting some of its funding be privatized by requiring manufacturers to pay user fees, a plan that Congress rejected at the time.
Concerns about the EPA program have been heightened by Trump’s attacks on the Department of Energy’s efficiency rules for appliances ranging from light bulbs to showerheads. The organizations argue in their letter Friday that a fully funded Energy Star program could help Trump’s goal of lowering energy costs.