The backtrack came in response to a tweet from Republican Gary Palmer, who voiced outrage that unelected officials could ban an appliance used by tens of millions of Americans.
The idea of banning was first raised by Democrat lawmakers Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Dan Beyer, who sent a letter to the the CPSC urging it to take action after a study found that gas stoves were linked to higher cases of asthma.
In his backtrack Monday, Trumka added that people who choose to switch to electric stoves would receive an $840 rebate due to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.Industry groups say that natural gas stoves don’t necessarily emit more harmful emissions than other types of stoves. the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and the American Gas Association both argued against a possible ban.
“Ventilation is really where this discussion should be, rather than banning one particular type of technology,” Jill Notini, a vice president at the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, . “Banning one type of a cooking appliance is not going to address the concerns about overall indoor air quality. We may need some behavior change, we may need [people] to turn on their hoods when cooking.”
While Karen Harbert, head of the American Gas Association, argued that neither the CPSC nor the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “present gas ranges as a significant contributor to adverse air quality or health hazard in their technical or public information literature, guidance, or requirements