(By Casey Harper, The Center Square) The U.S. House passed legislation this week to prevent a federal ban on gas stoves.
The “Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act” passed 248-180 with bipartisan support. The legislation, led by Republicans, would prevent the Consumer Products Safety Commission from using taxpayer dollars to treat gas stoves as a “banned hazardous product” or enact any regulations anything to make gas stoves practically prohibited by making them too expensive.
“The Biden administration is intent on weaponizing every aspect of the federal government to achieve its ideological goals,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. “Consumer protection should be about safety, not used as a veiled push to eliminate fossil fuels and the millions of jobs they support. Americans should decide if gas stoves are right for their families, not the Federal Government.”
The issue was thrust into the forefront with much controversy after news broke that the federal government was considering such a ban. Environmental activists have pointed to the impact of methane from the stove as well as potential research suggesting gas stoves could cause conditions like asthma.
A federal ban could affect more than half the nation.
“One hundred percent of the currently available free-standing gas stoves and 96 percent of gas cooktops will not meet the new standards proposed by the Biden Administration’s Department of Energy,” Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said in May after the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the bill out of committee.
