Today, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman voted in favor of House Resolution 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act. The legislation would stop the Department of Energy from dictating the type of stove or oven that Americans are allowed to use in their homes.
As part of President Joe Biden’s effort to decarbonize the United States by 2050, the White House suggest that the President was “not in favor of gas stoves” in January and might implement emission standards. Gas stoves are an often-overlooked contributor to global climate change and have even been linked to childhood asthma.
This suggestion to remove gas stoves was met with mockery and “horror” in the U.S. Congress. In response, 29 Democrats joined House Republicans to pass the Save Our Gas Stoves Act in a 249-181 vote
Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman was amongst those who voted in favor of the Save Our Gas Stoves Act. She released a statement after casting her vote:
“It is the height of insanity that Congress must pass legislation to keep unelected agency bureaucrats from cutting off the gas to our stoves – which would surely be followed by cutting off gas to our homes completely. H.R. 1640 will protect our right to make dinner for our families without big government forcing their cooking subpar mandates on the American Public. This bill, and H.R. 1615 – the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, which I voted in favor of yesterday, will stop the Biden administration from intentionally increasing our cost of living higher and prevent this asinine government overreach from taking away even more of our freedoms.
There’s no word on how the Save Our Gas Stoves Act will fare in the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, President Biden has said he is not planning to take any action on gas stoves.
Facts about gas stoves:
- Nearly 187 million Americans use natural gas due to its reliability and affordability.
- Natural gas stoves are currently the preferred cooktop appliance of nearly 40% of American households.
- The de facto ban on gas cooking appliances would cause Americans to spend an extra 23 hours a year waiting for water to boil.
- Homes with natural gas appliances save up to $1,068 per year compared to all-electric homes.
- Homes with natural gas appliances emit 22% less CO2 than all-electric homes.
- More than one new residential customer signs up for natural gas service every minute, and approximately 80 businesses begin new natural gas service every day.
- Natural gas is 3.4 times more affordable than electricity and significantly more affordable than several other residential energy sources for the same amount of energy delivered.
