Constitution Index · H.J.Res. 24 · 2025-01-16
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers".
Latest official status (2025-05-09): Became Public Law No: 119-7.
Constitutional grade
A
Constitutional
HJRES 24 uses lawful congressional review power to cancel a 2024 Department of Energy efficiency mandate for walk-in coolers and freezers. It imposes no new speech, search, property, or due-process burden, expands individual and business choice, and returns authority toward states and markets. It is constitutionally sound.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 Article I, Section 7 Amendment IV Amendment IX Amendment X Amendment V
SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com
The five checks
Enumerated powers · passes
Congress acts within express authority. Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 gives Congress power to regulate commerce among the states, and Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 gives power to make laws necessary and proper for carrying federal powers into effect. Here Congress uses that authority to restrain executive rulemaking through the Congressional Review Act, chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, and Article I, Section 7 presentment, which resulted in Public Law 119-7. Disapproving an agency rule stays inside enumerated legislative power.
Bill of Rights · passes
This resolution removes rather than imposes a federal mandate on manufacturers and owners of walk-in coolers and freezers. It compels no speech, prohibits no belief, authorizes no search under the Fourth Amendment, and takes no property. It therefore infringes none of the first ten Amendments and tends to protect Ninth Amendment retained rights and Tenth Amendment reserved powers by withdrawing federal control.
Individual liberty · passes
The resolution lessens government restraint on person, property, labor, and contract. Manufacturers, grocers, restaurants, and cold-storage owners regain freedom to choose equipment based on cost and need rather than the maximum federal efficiency standard the Department deemed feasible. No showing by the government is needed because no new burden is imposed; sovereignty is expanded, consistent with the Ninth Amendment.
Decentralization · passes
The resolution moves decision-making downward. (1) Businesses and buyers can weigh energy cost against upfront price without a federal mandate. (2) Local building and business choices need no federal door standard. (3) States retain authority under the Tenth Amendment to set their own efficiency policies if they choose. (4) It does not consolidate power upward; it reverses upward consolidation by nullifying a Department of Energy rule.
Due process and takings · passes
No deprivation of life, liberty, or property occurs under the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause, and no taking requiring just compensation occurs. The measure eliminates future compliance costs and deadlines of December 2027 and December 2028 rather than imposing a fine, seizure, or retroactive penalty without notice and hearing. It restores the prior legal baseline through the public legislative process of Article I, Section 7.
Provenance
- Congress.gov: HJRES 24 summary · fetched 2026-10-08 · official page ↗
Version history · never overwritten
| Grade | Graded | Rubric | Source hash | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · #211 | 2026-10-08 | vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 | b97027598b7e | current |
Cite this
Values for America. “Constitutional grade: H.J.Res. 24, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers"..” VFA Constitution Index, grade 211 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 8, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/211. Accessed 2026-10-19.
Permalink: https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/211
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