Congress has spared the 100-watt incandescent light bulb from a government-enforced phaseout in a win for Tea Party activists over manufacturers who said they are already switching to more energy-efficient products, Bloomberg reported.

A provision in legislation that funds the federal government through Sept. 30, 2012, prohibits the U.S. Department of Energy from carrying out the elimination of the pear-shaped bulb. Groups backing small government urged Republican allies to block the requirement, calling it an example of regulatory overreach in keeping with the health-care overhaul and the Wall Street bailout.

The federal standards limit the “freedom of average Americans” to buy whatever type of bulb they want, Rep. Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican, told Bloomberg.

A 2007 law effectively phased out incandescent bulbs starting next year by setting efficiency standards they don’t meet. They would be replaced by compact fluorescent, halogen and light-emitting diode models.

Light bulb makers, including General Electric Co., joined Democrats and environmentalists to defend the light bulb law, which was signed by President George W. Bush.

U.S. manufacturers invested millions of dollars updating factories to produce more efficient bulbs — including a halogen version with the incandescent model’s pear shape, Bloomberg said.

Click here for a related story in the Business Record.