Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1615.

Mr. Chair, I will include in the Record an article entitled ``California city gives celebrity chef Jose Andres an exemption for his restaurant to use gas stoves.''

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Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio. Mr. Chair, of course they did. Let's look at how this happened.

It was reported that while the progressive city of Palo Alto, California, has a natural gas ban for all new buildings and renovations, a policy that Democrats are trying to enact all over the country, we find that the ban actually doesn't apply to everybody.

Mr. Andres' lawyers, in front of the city council, argued that he could not possibly cook with the efficiency and precision he desires if forced to use electric stoves. The city council agreed and gave him a one-off, only-for-him exemption to the rule, not for small, family- owned restaurants or working-class residents. No one else, just him.

Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Mr. Andres, he is a wealthy, well-connected celebrity chef, very popular here inside the Washington Beltway, not only for great restaurants, but also for his leftwing activism for the border, climate change, and other liberal causes. I think you-all get the picture here.

To be fair, I actually totally agree with Mr. Andres. It is true that gas stoves are not only more efficient but also perform in a way that many Americans and restaurant owners prefer.

All that we ask, and what this legislation before us would do, is give the American people that same economic freedom and choice, the choice to use appliances that they actually want and can afford.

If we don't act, if we don't pass legislation like this, the Biden administration will continue on its path to take this onerous policy prescription nationwide.

To add insult to injury, this celebrity chef and his wealthy, powerful, national Democratic friends, who aren't giving up their gas stoves, their fossil-fuel-fired stoves, are the same exact people lecturing my constituents about climate change.

They say that it is Appalachian Ohioans and working-class families all over the country who need to give up their cars, their stoves, and their furnaces to avert the climate crisis. This is madness. It is hypocrisy.

Mr. Chair, any American, regardless of whether or not they are a wealthy, politically connected coastal elites, should be able to cook on a gas stove if they choose to.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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