You are mixing two menignas of the word "standard". One meaning is that of a definition; the length of a meter, the amount of current in one ampere. Setting these standards can be, but doesn't have to be a function of government. Most of the standards in force today were developed by industry, not government. For example, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed many standards, including the character coding I am using to type this post.The other meaning of standard is a performance objective, like miles/gallon, or lumens/watt. The government really has no business, and probably not the Constitutional right, forcing this kind of standard on people. Some are funny like the low-flush toilets that require two, or more, flushes thereby using more water than the old ones. Some kill people like the miles/gallon rule that forces lighter cars. The forced change to CFL lighting is simply political correctness run wild. I tried them since I hate to change light bulbs. I don't like the color temperature, the ratings on them are wrong as to the comparable incandescent wattage, and they don't last like they claim.