Save Our Gas Stoves Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chair, I can't even believe we are at this moment where the administration wants to take your gas stove--not take your gas stove but limit what you can purchase in the future.

I rise in support of H.R. 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act.

It is no secret this administration has waged war on American energy. From day one, President Biden has waged war on American energy, doing everything possible to phase out the use of all fossil fuels, including American-produced oil and clean-burning, American-produced natural gas.

Now, they are taking it a step further. They are dictating what appliances Americans can purchase for their homes.

In February, the Department of Energy announced a new proposal that would ban most natural-gas-fueled stoves on the market today. According to DOE's evaluation, only 4 percent of the gas stove cooking tops tested would meet DOE's proposed standard. DOE's proposed regulation would render gas stoves almost completely unavailable to the American consumer.

The average annual savings under the proposed rule would be only about $1 over the average lifetime of the appliance--$1 a year. We are debating a proposed rule that would save Americans, on average, $1 a year over the life of the appliance?

Mr. Chair, we have a lot more to do in this United States Congress than debating a proposed rule that will limit Americans' choices for appliances that would only save them $1 a year.

This clearly does not achieve the significant savings of energy as the law, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, requires.

So, what is this all about? I will tell you what it is about, Mr. Chair. The Democrats and this administration hate fossil fuels, and they want to diminish Americans' standard of living.

This rule is illegal, and it should be withdrawn. It is not a sincere effort to improve efficiency but rather a part of the whole-of- government approach to target energy sources they ideologically oppose.

H.R. 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, which we are debating today, would prohibit the Secretary of Energy from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing the recently proposed rule. It would also prohibit the Department of Energy from reissuing a rule that bans the use of natural gas.

Their goal is to end natural gas in this country. Natural gas is what got us down to the carbon emissions levels that we have achieved. If you want to approach it from the climate change standpoint, the carbon emissions standpoint has been because of natural gas.

It would also prohibit the Department of Energy from reissuing a rule. It would clarify that DOE does not have the authority to remove cooking products from the market simply because of the fuel product that the appliance consumes.

I am a proud cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation, and I thank Congresswoman Lesko for her leadership on this and for introducing this bill.

Americans should be free to choose the cooking products they use in their homes and their businesses, and this bill ensures that. Households that use natural gas for heating, cooking, and clothes drying save an average of $1,068 per year compared to homes that use electricity for those appliances.

The rush to green and mass electrification efforts pursued by the Biden administration are costing Americans and making everyday life more expensive, all for $1 per year savings.

It is gas stoves today. It will be gas furnaces tomorrow. They are already talking about gas hot water heaters and then dryers. They are coming after your natural gas appliances because they hate natural gas.

The bottom line is that, on day one, President Biden said that we are going to end the use of fossil fuels. He wanted to ban fracking, offshore production, and onshore production.

That is the real reason we are debating this. It is not about the appliance. It is about the war on energy and American-produced energy.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that is in front of us today which prioritizes American energy affordability and reliability and that puts the American people first and gives them choices.

Let the market determine which choice they can have, and let the consumer choose which one best meets their needs for their family, for their households, and for their businesses as they look at the bottom line in their budgets because the intention of the proposed rule only saves American families $1 a year. Give me a break.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1640.

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