Green lobbyists ‘ploy’ with Biden administration to ban gas stoves, senior Republicans claim
- Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman James Comer claim they ran ‘a hidden pressure campaign’ to bring about a ban
- The top two lawmakers have provided no evidence for their claims in a stern letter to green activists
- US officials have repeatedly denied that such a plan ever existed
Green lobbyists tried to force the Biden administration to ban gas stoves across America, according to two leading Republicans.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Congressman James Comer of Kentucky argue that climate change activists engaged in “a hidden pressure campaign” to ban them.
The two legislators wrote an angry letter to four groups to warn them that they may undergo an examination.
They told the Climate Imperative Foundation (CIF), Consumer Reports, Rewiring America and Windward Fund to detail all of their contacts with US government officials.
Regulators deny plans to ban the popular gas stove, but did consider tightening emissions regulations last year, according to a leaked memo.
Such a lack of transparency from Congress and the American public is unacceptable. We therefore expect a full written response to the requests for information and documents made in the March 16 letter no later than May 10, 2023,” they wrote.
Rewiring America hired ex-Georgia Democratic legislator Stacey Abrams in March as a lobbyist for the self-described “young and energetic nonprofit working to electrify everything.”
Senator Cruz and Rep. Comer also cited CIF for “working hand-in-hand with the Biden administration to ban gas stoves.”
The two senior Republicans have provided no evidence for their extraordinary claims that have been repeatedly denied by senior US officials.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission makes decisions independently of the executive branch.
But a leaked memo from October 2022, first obtained by Fox News, showed that the top safety watchdog was considering tightening regulations on hazardous emissions.
Trumka was appointed by President Joe Biden, but the CPSC makes its decisions independently of the White House
The need for gas stove regulation has reached a boiling point,” Biden-appointed CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. wrote.
He said the body “has a responsibility to ban consumer products that emit hazardous substances, especially when those emissions are harmful to children.”
“Emerging evidence is sufficient to conclude that gas stoves in homes emit toxic gases that cause illness and that cheaper, safer alternatives are available,” he added.
But Trumka sparked the debate when he gave an interview on product regulation to Bloomberg in January.
Every option is on the table. Products that cannot be made safe can be banned,” he said.
He later had to clarify that he had talked about new products and that a ban on gas stoves was not being considered.
“To be clear, CPSC is not coming for anyone’s gas stoves,” he wrote. ‘There are rules for new products.’