News that the US government was considering a ban on gas stoves seemed to, um, light a fire under some lawmakers who don't want Uncle Sam telling them how to cook their dang dinner.
ICYMI: Richard Trumka Jr, a US Consumer Product Safety commissioner, turned the heat up this week when he suggested that his agency could ban gas stoves because they have been linked to childhood asthma.
*cue the outrage machine*
"I'll NEVER give up my gas stove," GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas tweeted. "If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!"
Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat from West Virginia, called it a "a recipe for disaster."
"I can tell you the last thing that would ever leave my house is the gas stove that we cook on," Manchin tweeted.
Let's clear the air on this whole gas stove fracas.
Trumka confirmed to CNN today that "everything's on the table" when it comes to gas stoves, but he stressed that any ban would apply only to new gas stoves, not existing ones.
"We are not looking to go into anyone's homes and take away items that are already there. We don't do that," Trumka said. "If and when we get to regulation on the topic, it's always forward looking. You know, it applies to new products."
But also, let's be real about gas stoves. Yes, they are, without question, way nicer to cook on than their electric counterparts. But there are legitimate health and environmental concerns linked to them, too.
Trumka pointed to a study published last month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that found almost 13% of current childhood asthma in the United States is attributable to gas stove use.
Gas stoves are used in about 35% of households in the United States. That's slowly changing. Last month, New York City moved to ban gas hookups in new buildings, following similar moves by cities in California, Massachusetts and Washington. On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a measure to make New York the first state to ban natural gas heating and appliances in new buildings.
So far, the CSPC has not "coalesced" around a solution. But Trumka didn't back down from his statement earlier this week to Bloomberg, in which he said "products that can't be made safe can be banned."
Like, remember lead paint? Or asbestos? I for one am pretty grateful those things got the boot.
The White House weighed in on Wednesday, with a spokesperson telling CNN: "The President does not support banning gas stoves – and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is independent, is not banning gas stoves."
Alexander Hoehn-Saric, the agency's chairman, said that research indicates emissions from gas stoves "can be hazardous" and the CPSC is looking for ways to "reduce related indoor air quality hazards."
"But to be clear," Hoehn-Saric said, "I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so."
Bottom line: Everyone can simmer down. The government is not coming for your gas stove.
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