Biden administration's latest spending bill amounts to backdoor ban on gas-powered appliances, experts say

The Biden administration announced Monday it will spend more than $500 million to help state and local governments adopt green building codes, a strategy that amounts to a backdoor attempt to phase out gas stoves and other appliances that run on fossil fuels, energy experts told the Daily. Caller News Foundation.

Department of Energy (DOE) announced which is investing up to $530 million to help states and cities adopt and implement new building codes that are aligned with “zero energy codes,” which are defined as “a building energy policy that requires buildings demonstrate net zero energy use based on the measured building.” performance result”, seconds at the Institute of New Buildings.

The administration is touting the initiative as a way to counter climate change while offering savings to consumers efficient energy appliances, but the funding will facilitate an effort to phase out more affordable fossil fuel-powered appliances that have so far proven toxic at the federal level, energy experts told the DCNF.

“A big reason for federal intrusion into state and local building codes is to pursue an agenda that puts climate change activism above the best interests of homeowners,” said Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow specializing in environmental policy. for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, at the DCNF. . “A big part of that is the effort to use building codes to move people away from abundant and affordable natural gas in favor of electrifying everything.”

The administration has made considerable efforts to push Americans to adopt more efficient, and often electric, appliances in their homes over the next few years, proposing or finalizing two dozen new regulations to that end. seconds to the DOE. At the same time, the administration is also making a broad effort to help subnational governments advance policies that “decarbonizebuildings, which focuses on reducing the use of fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, to power crucial appliances such as water heaters i ovens.

The DOE announced in September, it will spend $225 million to help state and local governments adopt building codes that are in line with their electrification. New buildings built under the “decarbonized” code would not have natural gas lines, effectively forcing electric stoves and other electrical appliances, seconds in the Washington Post.

It has been reported that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). considered proposing a ban on gas stoves in early 2023 after a dubious study published by conflicting authors linked childhood asthma to the devices, and CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr., said in January that “any option is on the table” when it comes to regulating and banning “the products which cannot be made safe”. seconds at Bloomberg News.

Those comments about a possible ban on gas stoves caused considerable controversy reactionbut the administration proposed an “energy saving” regulation for stoves in February anyway. The DOE now states that it is a “myth” that “the federal government wants to ban gas stoves.”

The administration has not stopped proposing energy efficiency rules that would effectively force cheaper appliances that run on fossil fuels out of the market. In its announcements of new proposals, the administration consistently touts the energy-efficient appliances it promotes as a source of savings for consumers, even though most of these appliances have higher upfront costs than their less efficient counterparts.

“This is an example where the administration is not only wasting taxpayer dollars on a $33 trillion national debt, but also subjecting residents to ongoing costs that are not covered by their initial subsidies,” Diana Furchtgott -Roth, director of the Heritage Foundation. Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, told the DCNF.

“That's $530 million of wasted money — it won't reduce emissions, but it will increase the deficit,” Furchtgott-Roth continued, adding that the new spending “will put pressure on state and city governments to force consumers to make the things they do.” they don't want to make and buy products they don't want to buy”.

Americans “should always be suspicious when governments talk about 'investing.' It's not an investment, it's an expense that adds to the deficit”, he concluded.

Advocates of radical government action on climate change often point to buildings as a major source of emissions. Fossil fuel use attributable to residential and commercial buildings accounts for nearly 30% of American emissions, seconds at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

“Just as Biden's disastrous border policy is felt most acutely at the state and local level, Biden's green policies will not be the burden of the federal government that has no responsibility for the power grid,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of Power The Future, told the DCNF. “If these policies were so beneficial … if these electric appliances were such a preferred alternative to gas, the Biden Administration wouldn't have to use the power of government to force them on us. If they can get governments to locals do their bidding for them, then they are all equally guilty of plunging the nation into energy poverty.”

Neither the DOE nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.

Latest messages from Nick Pope (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.

JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and good conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-enter your email address for this. The public won't see it and we won't share it.