Gillibrand defends U.S. light bulbs

BATH, NY (AP) - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says a rollback of new energy-efficiency standards for old-fashioned light bulbs would hurt U.S. manufacturers and help Chinese companies export inferior products to the U.S.

Gillibrand is scheduled to tour a Philips Lighting Co. plant Thursday afternoon in Bath, 60 miles southeast of Rochester. She's announcing a plan to fight efforts in Congress to prevent the Department of Energy from enforcing the incandescent light bulb standard that went into effect in January.

She says all major U.S. lighting manufacturers produce bulbs that meet the standard and have spent millions of dollars developing them.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been blaming President Obama for banning old-fashioned light bulbs, but it was Republican George W. Bush that made the decision crowding the energy-wasters out of the market.