WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Wednesday proposed changes to regulations that would allow showerheads to increase water pressure, after President Donald Trump repeatedly complained that bathroom fixtures did not work to his liking.
PHOTO PHOTO: US President Donald Trump rules out administrative efforts to restrict federal regulation during an event on the South White House floor in Washington, DC, July 16, 2020. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
The Department of Energy’s plan followed Trump’s remarks last month back at a White House event on regulation. He said he believed water did not come out of fixtures fast enough.
“So what do you do? You just stand there longer or take a shower longer? Because my hair – I do not know about you, but it must be perfect.”
Last December, Trump said environmental regulators were looking for laundry, faucets and toilets to change rules designed to conserve water and fuel that heats it.
“People flush toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once,” Trump said at a meeting of small business leaders in the White House.
Consumer groups approved the plan, saying current rules save consumers money by conserving water and fuel.
The proposal would effectively allow showerheads to include multiple showerheads that ran through the 2.5 Congress in 1992, instituted in 1992, when Trump’s fellow Republican George HW Bush was president.
The Department of Energy also proposed easier standards for laundry. The Trump administration says its regulatory rollbacks save average U.S. households $ 3,100 a year. But conservatives say reducing bathroom fixture standards could increase energy and water costs.
It was not certain if the plan would be finalized. Trump is campaigning for re-election and trawling in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 vote. 3. If he wins and the proposal progresses, it can also fight in court.
David Friedman, vice president of advocacy at the organization Consumer Reports and a former official of the Department of Energy, said there was no need to change the rules because tests show that today’s shower heads “achieve high levels of customer satisfaction” while saving money.
(This story refiles to fix falling word in second paragraph)
Report by Timothy Gardner; Edited by David Gregorio
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