U.S. House lawmakers voted in support of an energy bill amendment that would prevent the Department of Energy from introducing energy efficiency standards that could outlaw most gas stoves on the market today.
More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the measure, part of a Republican-led pro-fossil-fuel legislative package H.R. 1, also referred to as the Lower Energy Costs Act, which the Biden administration has vowed to veto.
“Glad the House passed my amendment to H.R. 1 preventing @ENERGY from banning 50% of gas stoves on the market,” Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), who proposed the amendment, wrote on Twitter late Wednesday.
“This de facto gas stove ban was supported by 181 Democrats who are complicit in Biden’s quest to control your kitchen appliances,” added Palmer, the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.
It comes after the Department of Energy on Feb. 1 proposed a rule that would be a first-ever efficiency regulation for cooking appliances in the United States, setting new standards for both electric and gas cooking tops. It has received thousands of comments to date. Its comment period ends on April 3.
The proposed rule was followed by an updated DOE analysis (pdf) in late February that said about half of gas stove models currently being sold in the country wouldn’t be in compliance.
Palmer’s amendment prohibits the Secretary of Energy from implementing DOE’s proposed rule on gas stoves, as well as prohibits any other similar rule limiting access to gas stoves.
The vote on Palmer’s amendment Wednesday was 251–181 in favor, with 29 Democrats joining Republicans in the GOP-controlled chamber in the vote.
According to the Energy Information Administration, about 38 percent of U.S. households use natural gas for cooking. That’s about 40 million gas stoves.
The DOE has not been the only Biden administration entity that had been targeting gas stoves.
By Mimi Nguyen Ly
