Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1615 - Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act & H.R. 1640 - Save Our Stoves Act

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House)

H.R. 1615 - Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act
(Rep. Armstrong, R-ND, and 5 cosponsors)

H.R. 1640 - Save Our Stoves Act
(Rep. Lesko, R-AZ, and 63 cosponsors)

The Administration is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to safe and efficient products and can make smart consumer choices based on independent safety information and data-driven efficiency standards that save families money. While the Administration has been clear that it does not support any attempt to ban the use of gas stoves, it strongly opposes H.R. 1615 and H.R. 1640.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government whose mission is to follow the best available data to promote the safety of consumer products. This Administration opposes any effort to undermine the Commission's ability to make science-based decisions to protect the public, which is exactly what H.R. 1615 would do. H.R. 1640 would prohibit the Department of Energy (DOE) from establishing and enforcing proposed standards that would increase the energy efficiency of electric and gas kitchen stoves and ovens. For decades, at the direction of Congress, appliance efficiency standards have substantially reduced energy bills from lighting, air conditioners, refrigerators, and more. Consumers across every state have saved hundreds of dollars a year on utility bills as a result of these efficiency standards and by 2030 cumulative utility bill savings to consumers are expected to exceed $2 trillion. H.R. 1640 would prohibit DOE's proposed rulemaking on Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Conventional Cooking Products—which if finalized would apply to new products, both electric and gas, starting in 2027—and deny the American people the savings that come with having more efficient new appliances on the market when they choose to replace an existing appliance. The proposed standards are based on data-driven analysis and longstanding statutory factors.

H.R. 1615 and H.R. 1640 would undermine science-based Consumer Product Safety Commission decision-making and block common sense efforts to help Americans cut their energy bills.