GOP: Light bulb reprieve a 'present for all Americans'

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) said on Christmas Day that the Republicans' successful effort to delay rules that would start phasing out the incandescent light bulb is a "present for all Americans," but warned that the victory is temporary.

"It restores the freedom, at least temporarily, for you to choose the light bulbs you want to illuminate your home," Barton told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Republicans managed to include language in the 2012 omnibus spending bill that defunds the Energy Department's light bulb standards. The GOP charges those standards would see the phase-out of the incandescent build, and a required move to compact fluorescent bulbs.

Because the spending bill lasts only through the current fiscal year, Barton and other Republicans have noted that the delay only lasts through next fall, when the issue is expected to be fought over again.

"It gives us a chance to work on it some more," Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) told the Star-Telegram. "This may be a relatively modest victory but it's important to have it. At least until Sept. 30, we've got a little bit of a reprieve."