Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026; SHOWER Act and Affordable HOMES Act

House Rules Committee
H-313 Capitol

01/06/2026 at 06:45PM

The Committee on Rules will meet Tuesday, January 6, 2026 at 6:45 PM ET in H-313, The Capitol on the following emergency measure:

  • H.R. ____ – Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026

Text

Committee Reports

(The draft Senate Energy-Water report was not adopted by the chamber so carries no power.)

Joint Explanatory Statements (extends the Committee Reports unless explicitly overrides them)

As well as the following measures:

H.R. 4593, the Saving Homeowners from Overregulation With Exceptional Rinsing Act, amends the definition of a showerhead under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) by inserting the 2024 American Society of Mechanical Engineers definition. This change in definition opens the door for the Trump Administration to weaken water efficiency standards for showerheads.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 amended EPCA to include a definition of ‘‘showerhead’’ and set a maximum water flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM). However, in response to confusion and uncertainty over how the EPCA definition of ‘‘showerhead’’ applied to a showerhead product with multiple nozzles, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a regulatory definition in 2013. The definition clarified that a showerhead must meet the 2.5 GPM statutory standard regardless of how many individual nozzles the showerhead system included.

In 2020, the Trump Administration amended the definition of ‘‘showerhead’’ to allow showerheads with multiple nozzles to sidestep the statutory water efficiency standard. More specifically, in 2020, DOE interpreted the updated definition of showerhead to mean that each showerhead with multiple nozzles would be considered separate in terms of compliance with the 2.5 GPM standard. This change would increase water and energy use, thereby increasing consumers’ utility bills. In response, the Biden Administration reversed this action in 2021, asserting that a showerhead with multiple nozzles must comply with the 2.5 GPM standard.

In April 2025, instead of ensuring regulatory certainty and preserving consumer cost savings, the Trump Administration continued the back-and-forth by signing an executive order directing DOE to rescind and revise the 2021 Biden Administration definition of a showerhead to ‘‘end the Obama-Biden war on water pressure.’’ However, the water efficiency standards for showerheads set by Congress in 1992 do not regulate water pressure. Importantly, the standards concern water flow. Water pressure is determined by engineering decisions in the manufacturing process, and several other factors can interact to impact water pressure and flow, like clogs, leaks, and sediment build-up. In testing showerheads, Consumer Reports found that water flow does not predict the performance of a showerhead.

H.R. 4593 attempts to codify an ambiguous and unclear definition of a showerhead, which will only open the door for further regulatory confusion and uncertainty. The definition change proposed in the bill lends support to the Trump Administration’s misguided efforts to weaken standards for showerheads, allowing for increased water and energy usage, which, in turn, will raise consumer utility bills.

H.R. 5184, the ‘‘Affordable Housing Over Mandating Efficiency Standards Act,’’ prevents households that live in manufactured housing from benefiting from energy efficiency standards that are established by energy sector experts. Specifically, H.R. 5184 amends Section 413 of the bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) and removes this authority from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) jurisdiction, thus sending energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes to another federal agency that does not specialize in energy efficiency rulemaking. Additionally, the bill prevents DOE’s May 2022 energy conservation standard for manufactured housing from taking effect and lowering household utility bills. For these reasons, the Committee Minority strongly opposes H.R. 5184.

H.R. 5184 amends section 413 of EISA, shifting authority of manufactured housing efficiency standards to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). EISA passed in a bipartisan fashion, and Congress explicitly directed DOE to develop energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes. The law directs DOE to base the standards on the most recent International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) unless the Secretary finds that IECC is not cost-effective or that a more stringent standard would be cost-effective. Prior to the passage of EISA, HUD, which was responsible for energy standards for manufactured homes, had not updated its energy provisions since 1994.2 EISA requires DOE to provide notice and the opportunity for comment from manufacturers and stakeholders, and to consult with the HUD Secretary on energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing.3 DOE has a rigorous rulemaking process with extensive stakeholder engagement and energy sector expert input, and has significant experience setting energy efficiency standards. Amending Section 413 of EISA undermines this important DOE authority.

H.R. 5184 also prevents the final rule titled ‘‘Energy Conservation Program: Standards for Manufactured Housing’’ published in the Federal Register on May 31, 2022, from having any effect. In May 2022, DOE finalized a court-mandated rule adopting energy conservation standards for new manufactured homes. The rule will help those living in manufactured housing save up to $475 per year on average on their utility bills.4 Energy costs are about 70 percent higher per square foot in manufactured homes compared to site built homes.5 The median energy burden of manufactured housing residents is 39 percent higher than that of single-family households.6 The Committee Minority believes it is important to support this standard and the crucial savings the standard will provide for these households.

In developing the May 2022 final rule, DOE consulted HUD to appropriately balance the upfront costs of manufactured homes with long-term affordability, recognizing that ‘‘access to affordable housing and reducing energy burdens of the purchasers are of the utmost importance in the manufactured housing market.’’ 7 Thus, to accommodate price-sensitive, low-income purchasers of manufactured homes, DOE adopted a tiered approach based on the size of the manufactured home in the final rule.8 As such, the final rule is cost-effective, with the benefits of the rule far outweighing the costs.

Additionally, H.R. 5184 was amended during the November 19, 2025, Subcommittee on Energy markup to allow DOE to submit recommendations for revisions to HUD’s conservation standards for manufactured housing based on specific criteria. While the amendment marginally improved the bill by removing the outright repeal of section 413 of EISA, the amendment still failed to address the major flaws in the underlying bill. As amended, H.R. 5184 still nullifies DOE’s May 2022 manufactured housing energy conservation standard, jeopardizing more than $5 billion in savings for manufactured housing residents.9 As amended, the bill still undermines DOE’s authority to set efficiency standards by shifting the responsibility to HUD. The bill fails to specify what HUD should do with DOE’s recommendations; even if DOE submitted recommendations, it is likely that they will have no effect.

Entrusting HUD with setting efficiency standards for manufactured homes will not improve affordability. As previously mentioned, when HUD was the lead agency responsible for setting energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes prior to the passage of EISA, the agency had failed to meaningfully update the standards since 1994, leaving manufactured housing residents with disproportionately high energy bills for years. By repealing DOE’s court-mandated and long-awaited energy conservation standard for manufactured homes, H.R. 5184 deprives residents of significant and desperately needed cost savings. At a time when electricity prices are up thirteen percent nationwide, strong energy efficiency standards are imperative to safeguard consumers.