Fact check: No, the Biden administration is not trying to ban gas stoves

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) falsely claimed on Monday that President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to ban half of the gas stoves in use in the United States. He and other GOP lawmakers have been fearmongering for weeks with allegations that the administration is coming for everyone’s kitchen appliances.

The senator’s comments came in response to publication on Feb. 1 of a rule proposed by the Department of Energy introducing “new and amended energy conservation standards for consumer conventional cooking products.”

Daines, who as the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee is a member of the Senate GOP leadership, appeared on the Fox Business network on Monday. Host Larry Kudlow asked him about his recent letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm asserting that under the new proposed regulation, “96% of existing gas cooking tops would be banned from future manufacturing and sales.” Daines said:

This is just another example of the green hallucination that the Democrats are trying to impose on America. We called them out on this, and by the way, since that was written, they have come back to us and now said, Well, it’s actually about 50%. At least they’re admitting 50%. They want to ban them all, but they’ve publicly said now it’s 50%. Can you imagine banning 50% of the gas stoves in the United States? This is crazy talk, and this is dangerous because energy security is national security.

Referring to countries in Europe that have instituted policies that take account of environmental concerns, Daines said: “Any time the greenies have control and politicians start yielding to the whims of the radical green movement, terrible things happen as it relates to energy. … We’re going to do everything we can to stop it. The best thing we can do right now is just expose it to the American people.”

Daines was referring to an Energy Department analysis of the impacts of the proposed rule, which found “that nearly half of the total gas cooking top market currently achieves EL 2 and therefore would not be impacted by the proposed standard, if finalized.”

The regulation would apply energy efficiency laws to new gas stoves sold, halting the sales of less efficient models.

“Over half the market would remain if this standard is finalized as proposed,” Energy Department spokesperson Jeremy Ortiz told E&E News on Feb. 23. The Department told the outlet that the proposal would prevent 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 245,000 tons of methane from being emitted into the environment.

But while the rule would impact about half of future models, it won’t apply to stoves that have already been purchased.

Other congressional Republicans have made similar misleading claims about the proposed rule.

“The DOE is proposing a rule that would block half of the gas stoves currently available in the US,” tweeted Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford on Monday. “Big government needs to get out of the kitchen. Oklahomans aren’t giving up their gas stoves.”

“While the Left tried to lie about their desires to ban the gas stove in America, they’re doing just that!” tweeted Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert.

“Biden now wants to BAN GAS STOVES but he will only ban YOUR gas stove,” tweeted Illinois Rep. Mary Miller on Sunday. “The White House will still have gas stoves. Biden’s mansion in Delaware will still have gas stoves. The left always pushes ‘rules for thee but not for me!'”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted a Valentine’s Day poem: “Roses are red. Violets are blue. Biden wants to ban gas stoves. And is allowing the Chinese to surveil us too!”

Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga told Fox News on Monday: “From the start, the Biden Administration has not been honest with the American people about its desire to ban gas stoves. That is why I introduced the STOVE Act to stop any potential ban.”

His bill, the Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy (STOVE) Act, would bar any regulation “that restricts or bans the use and purchase of gas-powered stoves, cooktops, ranges, or ovens in the United States.” So far 28 House Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors.

The proposed Energy Department rule addresses energy efficiency, but health factors are another issue connected with gas stoves. Scientific American reported in January that scientific studies have shown for a long time that gas stoves give off pollutants that can cause or worsen respiratory illnesses. A study published in December 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that almost 13% of current cases of childhood asthma can be attributed to the use of gas stoves.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.