Rep. Sandy Adams's bill would limit funds for DOE websites promoting energy efficiency. GOPer to DOE: Don't tell the kids!

A Republican congresswoman wants the Energy Department to stop promoting energy efficiency to kids.

Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.) has introduced an amendment to the Energy and Water spending bill that would limit funds for any DOE website “which disseminates information regarding energy efficiency and educational programs to children or adolescents.”


The “Energy Kids!” site has a potpourri of energy-related information for kids, parents and teachers, ranging from science fair project suggestions to puzzles, an activity book and scavenger hunt. Kids can even earn a certificate for completing an expedition with “Energy Ant.”

In introducing her amendment Thursday night, Adams flipped through blown-up charts of cartoons and jokes from various DOE websites, including the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s “Kids Saving Energy.”

“How did Benjamin Franklin feel when he discovered electricity? He was shocked,” she said, reading from a poster.

It’s unclear how much money taxpayers would save from removing the sites, and Adams said she was frustrated with Energy Secretary Steven Chu for not providing her with those details.

The House is set to vote on the amendment Friday.

Democrats on the Hill say the amendment is the latest outrage from Republicans.

The ranking Democrat on the Energy and Water spending subcommittee, Indiana Rep. Pete Visclosky, asked just how far the government should go to remove information about other issues.

"Maybe, for those under 18, we shouldn’t have any federal expenditures to educate young people about drugs because ‘Well, we gotta save money,’" he said on the House floor. "Maybe we can convince them to get off drugs when they’re 18."

Eben Burnham-Snyder, spokesman for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), compared the amendment to the ongoing GOP effort to eliminate light bulb efficiency standards — a vote on which is also likely Friday. “They don’t just want to kill energy-efficient light bulbs, they want to make sure that kids don’t ever hear about them either,” he said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 8:37 p.m. on July 14, 2011.