The Department of Energy has failed to revise energy savings standards for home appliances, prompting 15 states and New York City to file suit. In the 1990s, Congress instructed DOE to develop performance criteria for household appliances and to periodically update those standards. However, deadlines for updating the energy savings standards of 22 different home appliances expired six to 13 years ago, costing consumers billions of dollars, according to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a plaintiff in the suit. The Natural Resource Defense Council, Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, and the Texas Ratepayers' Organization to Save Energy also filed suit over the expired deadlines.