Exclusive: A new resolution introduced by the Republican Party in Congress could hamper the president Biden's latest ban On natural gas water heaters, Fox News Digital has learned.
In the last days of Biden administrationThe Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a new rule banning non-condensing natural gas-fired water heaters by 2029 in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. But Republicans in Congress are seeking to intervene.
On Wednesday, Alabama Republican Rep. Gary Palmer introduced the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which would allow Congress to overturn rules enacted by federal agencies, to circumvent the administration's crackdown on the devices, which was first shared with Fox News Digital.
“It's a radical ban on water heaters. Another example of government overreach under the Biden administration on their way out the door. They don't care about consumers,” Palmer told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Alabama, leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday, January 30, 2024. (Tom Williams)
Supporters of Biden's regulation, such as the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), suggest it would eliminate 32 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from water heaters sold over 30 years.
But Palmer said that would have serious economic implications for working Americans, given the amount a family 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 would pass the House, where several other Republican lawmakers have signed on as cosponsors.
“Joe Biden's recent efforts to ban gas water heaters in his final days in office are nothing less than another green energy scam,” Rep. Eric Burleson, R-Mo., a co-sponsor of the CRA, told Fox.
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 is about control, rising costs, and imposing a radical, unsustainable agenda on every household,” Burleson said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “It is time to stand up to the tyranny of regulations and protect the freedoms and choices of the American people.”
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Other Republican sponsors include Reps. Julia Letlow of Louisiana, Mike Collins of Georgia, Randy Weber of Texas, Stephanie Pace of Oklahoma, Barry Moore of Alabama, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Claudia Tenney of New York, Ross Fulcher of Idaho, and Jack. Bergman of Michigan, Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, Jeff Hurd of Colorado and Jim Byrd of Minnesota. Indiana.
The National Propane Gas Association also supports repealing the ban, telling Fox that it “threatens to eliminate the market for non-condensing gas water heaters.”
Angel Gomez (left) and France Mendez, technicians with John G. Webster Heating, Cooling and Plumbing, remove a gas water heater from a home in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 2024. (Bastian Enzauralde)
“This rule will force families to replace their existing equipment with unnecessary expensive modifications, imposing an undue financial burden on a marginal level of energy savings and questionable economic benefits,” Steve Kaminsky, president and CEO of the National Propane Gas Association, told Fox News Digital. . .
Biden has introduced regulations on several different matters Home 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 regulations that evolved from Biden's law. climate agenda, Palmer said.
