A bill to beat back what critics are calling a ban on traditional light bulbs failed in the House of Representatives Tuesday.

The "Better Use of Light Bulbs Act," or BULB Act, would have repealed the efficiency standards set under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

That legislation - signed into law by President George W. Bush, with bipartisan support - mandates that light bulbs be 30 percent more efficient in 2012. It then imposes increasingly strict efficiency standards through 2020. The standards were devised as a way to save energy and cut pollution.

Backers of the BULB Act, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton, say that because traditional incandescent bulbs cannot meet the strict standards in a cost-efficient way, they will be phased out in favor of more energy-efficient - and less desirable - options like curly florescent bulbs and LED bulbs. Florescent bulbs are more expensive than traditional incandescent bulbs, though the gap is closing as the newer bulbs become cheaper.
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Though Barton's bill got a majority in the GOP-led House - the vote was 233 in favor to 193 opposed - it failed because it was brought to the House floor in a way that required a two-thirds majority. Even if the bill had passed it would have been extremely unlikely to get through the Democrat-controlled Senate.