Why a Texas politician cares about which light bulb you can buy

Lewisville Rep. Michael Burgess is a medical doctor who stands out as a well-known Republican voice on health care and other marquee issues that consume Congress' time and energy. But one of his most persistent battles has focused on an issue far beyond the main spotlight: the traditional incandescent light bulb. Burgess has for years — and most recently, last month — inserted language into key spending bills to protect those old-school lamps by preventing the U.S. Energy Department from enforcing decade-old rules that require light bulbs to abide by more stringent energy-efficiency standards.