Two House Republicans are pushing back against the Biden administration’s reported effort to ban gas stoves, with legislation that could get a vote on the House floor this year.
The bills, authored by Representatives Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and Debbie Lesko of Arizona, aim to prevent the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Department of Energy from banning or regulating gas stoves.
In January, a member of the CPSC suggested that a ban on gas stoves was “on the table” due to health risks associated with their use. While the CPSC backed down after public backlash, the Department of Energy later proposed an energy-efficiency regulation that officials say is so strict that 96% of gas stoves currently in use would fail to meet the standard.
“Inflation is hurting everyone. We have a crisis at our Southern Border. North Dakotans are worried about being able to provide for their families,” Armstrong said in a Monday statement.
“What is the Biden administration focused on? Controlling the kind of stove Americans use. This is further incompetence from an administration that seems more interested in dictating every aspect of our lives than solving real problems.”
Meanwhile, Lesko’s bill would prevent the Department of Energy from finalizing, implementing or enforcing its proposed rule on “Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products,” or any “substantially similar rule.”
Support for the bills comes from Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington State. Rodgers criticized the Biden administration’s proposed regulation, saying, “President Biden and the radical left want to use the federal government’s power to dictate what kind of car you can drive, how you can heat your home and business, and now how you’re allowed to cook food for your family.”
Armstrong echoed Rodgers’ sentiments, stating, “What is the Biden administration focused on? Controlling the kind of stove Americans use. This is further incompetence from an administration that seems more interested in dictating every aspect of our lives than solving real problems.”
