Joe Manchin and Ted Cruz are Trying to Ban Gas Stove Bans

Senators Joe Manchin and Ted Cruz have teamed up across the aisle to introduce new legislation that would stop the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from restricting gas stoves. The legislationEntitled the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, it was introduced during a committee meeting on Thursday and would ban all future bans on gas stoves using federal funds.

“Why?” you might ask. Well, haven’t you heard: the government is coming for your precious cooktop. President Joe Biden and “the Liberals” want to keep America from good fried eggs and boiled water. At least that’s what some prominent politicians say paid by the fossil fuel industrywant you to believe.

“Make no mistake, radical environmentalists want to stop Americans from using natural gas,” Cruz said in an opinion about the fact. While Manchin said, “The federal government has nothing to do with telling American families how to cook their dinner.”

In recent weeks, the White House And the CPSC Both have repeatedly reiterated that neither federal agency is considering banning gas stoves. The reassurance follows vaguely, however widespread comments by a CPSC commissioner insinuating a series of tighter restrictions on gas-fired appliances were on the agency’s discussion table.

But even after the clarification that there is NO BAN ON GAS STOVE UNDER FEDERAL SUPERVISION, the “problem” has changed remained a gathering point for right wing anger on the internet and beyond.

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In no universe will members of the CPSC barge into your home and remove your kitchen appliances. Even if the Commission imposed sweeping restrictions on the devices, and even if this culminated in a ban, such a policy would almost certainly only apply to future products and stoves yet to be sold – as CPSC measures generally do. In fact, the CPSC already has existing regulations in the books about wood and coal devices. And nothing in this policy focuses on penalizing consumers, just holding producers and retailers accountable.

Separately, Senators Manchin and Cruz are doubling down on the concept that potential restrictions on gas stoves are tantamount to restrictions on the God-given rights of American citizens. “The [CPSC] The proposed gas stove ban is the latest egregious scaremongering by the far left and its Biden-administered allies,” Cruz said in Thursday’s news statement. And, forever a sham On fossil fuels, Manchin added: “I can tell you the last thing that would ever leave our home is the gas stove we cook on and I will continue to fight against any gas stove overdoing.” [CPSC].”

The brief but far-reaching act by the two lawmakers would essentially bar the CPSC from taking any further action to regulate or restrict stoves. In other words, it would prevent the Commission from doing its job of consumer protection. The proposed ban in the bipartite bill reads as follows:

No federal funds may be used [CPSC] to regulate an existing or new gas stove as a prohibited hazardous product under Section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 USC 2057), or to impose or enforce a consumer product safety standard or regulation on existing or new gas stoves under Section 7 or 9 of any such Act (15 USC 18 2056 or 2058) that would otherwise result in a ban on the use or sale of gas stoves in the United States or would otherwise significantly increase the average price of gas stoves in the United States.

So it’s not just that the Manchin/Cruz Act would prohibit a ban in total Bans, but it would also ban any new regulation that might increase the initial cost of a gas stove.

Notable: Although gas stove restrictions would likely have minimal impact on Americans’ daily lives (apart from improving their indoor air quality), a ban on the devices would hurt the natural gas industry. Both Cruz and Manchin are big recipients of fossil fuel funding. The West Virginia Senator received more than $1.17 million in campaign contributions by oil and gas companies over the past year. Meanwhile, the Texas politician’s gas profits are even more impressive $1.5 million to industry donations in 2022. But that probably has nothing to do with their policy making at all, right?

Although there is currently no nationwide gas cooker ban on the table, maybe it should be. Already several cities and towns, including NYC And san francisco, have led to bans on putting gas connections in new buildings. Gas appliances are a well-documented and significant health hazard that affects indoor air quality and increases risk Childhood asthma, certain types of cancerAnd respiratory disease. Then, in addition to the health risk, there is still the consequences of climate change of methane emissions and its burned by-products leak into the atmosphere.

All this talk about regulating gas appliances is not an attack on American liberty. It’s a bona fide, science-based attempt to protect people from a dangerous and easily preventable source of pollution. The CPSC is a non-partisan federal agency dedicated to protecting consumers from the worst dangers of unbridled capitalism. Manchin and Cruz are prominent politicians who regularly receive funding from the regulator. Who you trust is up to you.