The Biden administration’s recent crackdown on gas stoves has sparked a wave of backlash across America. The new rule aims to phase out the use of gas-powered appliances in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. However, this move has not gone down well with many Americans who strongly oppose the government’s interference in their daily lives. The widespread outcry against this new rule underscores the growing tension between the Biden administration’s environmental policies and the concerns of everyday Americans.
Several energy and consumer advocacy groups filed comments on Monday with the Department of Energy (DOE) opposing the agency’s rules regulating gas stoves.
Fox News reports, in an argument led by Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), 18 groups argued the DOE’s stovetop regulations compromise consumer choice and are therefore “arbitrary and capricious” while having little impact on climate change. The letter emphasized compliance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which requires the federal government to implement energy efficiency measures without limiting consumer choice.
The groups write: “EPCA does not mandate a new energy conservation standard for cooking products, but permits one only if it benefits consumers. This is not the case here. The proposed rule would almost certainly compromise some of the features that gas stove users want, and all for the sake of saving an insignificant amount of energy.”
The letter continued, saying: “The agency’s exaggerated claims of climate change benefits do not alter the fact that the proposed rule violates the consumer protections in the statute. “For these reasons, we believe the proposed rule should be withdrawn.”
The letter comes after a new “energy conservation standard” for gas stoves and electric cooking equipment was proposed by the Biden administration.
According to the DOE’s proposed rule, gas stoves would be required to meet energy efficiency standards, but their use by consumers would not be capped.
An official at the Consumer Product Safety Commission even told Bloomberg in January that the Biden administration was considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves.
Furthermore, the DOE has introduced a number of other energy efficiency regulations impacting air conditioners, ovens, clothes washers, and refrigerators over the past few months. The rules have been criticized as an overreach of the federal government and as unnecessary since the technology has improved without government intervention.
Meanwhile, Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow who specializes in environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, further argues that the Biden administration’s war on natural gas is a “war on consumer choice.”
The America First Policy Institute, which signed onto the letter this week, added on Twitter, “These DOE efficiency standards are supposed to benefit consumers. But they’re clearly being done as part of the climate agenda.”
The proposed ban on gas stoves is a prime example of the Biden administration’s growing agenda to increase government control over people’s lives, and many Americans aren’t happy about it. As citizens of a free country, Americans should have the right to choose which appliances they use, without interference from the government. Instead of implementing draconian restrictions, the Biden administration should focus on incentivizing the use of clean energy, without infringing upon the American people’s personal liberty.
