Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) cosponsored a legislation with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to fight a nonexistent gas stove ban.
The Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act prevents the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from using federal funds to ban new or existing gas stoves.
The bill comes after Republicans spent weeks engaging in a fiery debate, among themselves, about gas stoves after CPSC commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., told Bloomberg that the administration was considering more stringent regulations on gas stoves over concerns that pollutants from burning gas indoors could increase health risks, including the risk of childhood asthma, according to NBC.
Even though the White House and the CPSC have denied that the administration is trying to ban stoves, the issue of the nonexistent gas stove ban has become the latest battle in Republicans’ culture war.
“The federal government has no business telling American families how to cook their dinner, which is why Senator Cruz and I introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure Americans decide how to cook in their own homes,” Manchin, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, said in a statement. “I can tell you the last thing that would ever leave our house is the gas stove we cook on, and I will continue to fight any overreach by the Consumer Product Safety Commission,” he added.
In a separate statement Cruz, a potential candidate for the GOP nomination for president said: “Make no mistake, radical environmentalists want to stop Americans from using natural gas. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s proposed ban on gas stoves is the latest egregious scaremongering by the far left and their Biden administration allies. I am pleased to partner with Senator Manchin in this bipartisan effort to stop the federal government from issuing regulations that put the interests of the Green New Deal before the well-being of American families.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) mocked the debate over a gas stove ban in a statement on Friday, according to The Hill.
“At first you have to laugh at the ‘gas stove ban’ narrative being cooked up by the MAGA GOP,” Schumer said.
“Nobody is taking away your gas stove,” he continued. “I challenge the MAGA Republicans to turn the tide and show the American people they can get things done. Put a fork in this ridiculous gas stove strategy, and fast. Show us your plan” to raise the debt ceiling.
