Federal Agency's Talk of Banning New Gas Stoves Fuels Fiery Response

Published: 1/11/2023, 11:53:53 PM EST

Federal Agency's Talk of Banning New Gas Stoves Fuels Fiery Response — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, presides over a hearing on battery technology, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on Sept. 22, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A federal product safety regulator recently revealed there has been consideration of a plan to ban gas stoves, with such comments drawing criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said, in a recent interview with Bloomberg News, that his agency is considering a ban on gas-powered stoves.

Trumka cited concerns about pollutants and research indicating links to their use with childhood asthma.

“This is a hidden hazard,” Trumka said. “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”

A peer-reviewed research paper that was published last month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, said about 35 percent of homes in the U.S. use indoor gas-powered stoves.

The paper said such gas stove use is "associated with an increased risk of current asthma among children" and said about 12.7 percent of current childhood asthma cases in the United States are "attributable to gas stove use."

Lawmakers Respond

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) organized a Dec. 22 letter to the CPSC, requesting the agency consider a series of new regulations on gas stoves, such as requiring stoves to be sold with range hoods that meet mandatory performance standards, assessing their efficiency of removing the pollutants.

"As you know, the CPSC has broad authority under the Consumer Product Safety Act to regulate consumer products that pose an unreasonable risk of injury," the letter reads. "We urge the Commission to protect consumers from these harmful emissions. The Commission itself expressed concerns over gas stove emissions in 1985. Since then, evidence for the danger of these emissions has only increased."

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) signed onto Booker's and Beyer's letter. Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Shontel M. Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Alan S. Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Gwen S. Moore (D-Wisc.), Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.), and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and District of Columbia (D.C.) Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton also signed the letter.

'Recipe for Disaster'

While proposals to regulate gas stoves have seen growing support among Democrat lawmakers, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) stands opposed to the idea.

"This is a recipe for disaster. The federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner," Manchin said in a Tuesday press statement.

"I can tell you the last thing that would ever leave my house is the gas stove that we cook on. If this is the greatest concern that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has for American consumers, I think we need to reevaluate the commission."

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Teaxs) also tweeted, "I’ll NEVER give up my gas stove. If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!"

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) appeared to push back on Jackson's tweet, replying, "Did you know that ongoing exposure to NO2 from gas stoves is linked to reduced cognitive performance."

Republican Virginia State Delegate Nick Frietas then replied to Ocasio-Cortez, tweeting, "Did you know that it’s a lot harder for the government to arbitrarily cut off your access to power if your using gas as opposed to electric? Or is that really the point?"

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) also reacted to the news that the CPSC is considering regulating gas stoves, tweeting, "Over 40 million American households use gas stoves. This type of power should never have been given to unelected bureaucrats and it is time for it to end."

Trumka replied to Palmer's tweet, saying, "To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products."

Trumka also said that the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last year includes an $840 rebate to support American consumers who choose to switch from a gas stove to an electric one.