EXCLUSIVE: A new congressional resolution introduced by the GOP could block the president Biden’s recent ban about natural gas water heaters, Fox News Digital has learned.
In the days running out Biden administrationThe Department of Energy (DOE) announced a new rule banning natural gas non-condensing water heaters by 2029 in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Republicans in Congress, however, are seeking to intervene.
On Wednesday, Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., introduced the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which would allow Congress to overturn rules passed by federal agencies to circumvent an administrative crackdown on the device, first shared with Fox News Digital.
“It’s a radical ban on water heaters. Another example of government overreach under the outgoing Biden administration. They don’t care about consumers,” Palmer told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (Tom Williams)
Proponents of Biden’s regulation, such as the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), suggest it will eliminate 32 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from water heaters sold over 30 years.
But Palmer said it would have serious economic implications for working Americans, given the amount a household would have to pay out of pocket for a new water heater that complies with the rule.
The Alabama congressman expressed confidence that the CRA will pass in the House, as several other Republican lawmakers have signed on as sponsors.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., one of the CRA’s co-sponsors, told Fox that “Joe Biden’s latest effort to ban gas water heaters in his final days in office is nothing more than another green energy scam.”
President Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on January 10. (AP/Ben Curtis)
“This latest attack on American consumers is not about saving the planet; it’s about control, higher costs and forcing an unsustainable, radical program on every household,” Burlison said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “It’s time to stand up to this tyranny of regulation and protect the freedoms and choices of the American people.”
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Other Republican co-sponsors include Reps. Julia Letlow of Louisiana, Mike Collins of Georgia, Randy Weber of Texas, Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma, Barry Moore of Alabama, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Claudia Tenney of New York, Russ Fulcher of Idaho, Jack Bergman of Michigan , Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, Jeff Hurd of Colorado and Jim Baird of Indiana.
The National Propane Gas Association also supports overturning the ban, telling Fox that it “threatens to eliminate the market for non-condensing instantaneous gas water heaters.”
Angel Gomez (L) and Franes Mendez, technicians for John G. Webster Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, remove a gas water heater from a home in Washington, DC, on August 28, 2024. (Bastien Inzaurralde)
“This rule would force families to replace their existing equipment with unnecessary expensive retrofits, imposing an undue financial burden for marginal levels of energy savings and questionable economic benefits,” Steve Kaminski, president and CEO of the National Propane Gas Association told Fox News Digital .
Biden introduced regulations on several different ones household appliances during his tenure, such as washing machines, gas stoves and ceiling fans.
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But the Republican-controlled Congress will reportedly be “very aggressive in rolling back” some of the regulations that evolved from the Bidens climate agenda, Palmer said.
