EXCLUSIVE: A new, GOP-introduced congressional resolution could block President Biden’s recent ban on natural gas water heaters, Fox News Digital has learned.
In the waning days of the Biden administration, the Department of Energy announced a new rule banning non-condensing, natural gas-fired 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 a Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to overturn rules enacted by federal agencies to circumvent the administration’s appliance crackdown, shared first 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 care nothing about consumers,” Palmer told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (Tom Williams)
Proponents of Biden’s regulation, such as the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, suggest it will eliminate 32 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from water heaters sold over 30 years.
However, Palmer said it will have serious economic implications on 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 is going to pass in the House, as several other Republican lawmakers have signed on as sponsors.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., one of the cosponsors of the CRA, told Fox News that “Joe Biden’s last-ditch effort to ban gas water heaters in his final days in office is nothing short of another green energy scam.”
President Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10. (AP/Ben Curtis)
“This latest assault on American consumers isn’t about saving the planet; it’s about control, higher costs, and forcing an unsustainable, radical agenda on every household,” Burlison said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “It’s time we stand up against this tyranny of regulations 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 News that it “threatens to eliminate the non-condensing instantaneous gas water heaters market.”
Angel Gomez, left, and Franes Mendez, technicians at heating, cooling and plumbing company John G. Webster, remove a gas water heater from a home in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 2024. (Bastien Inzaurralde)
“This rule would compel families to replace their existing equipment with unnecessary expensive retrofits, imposing an undue financial burden for a marginal level of energy savings and questionable economic benefits,” Steve Kaminski, president and CEO of the National Propane Gas Association told Fox News Digital.
Biden has introduced regulations on several different household appliances during his term, such as washing machines, gas stoves, and ceiling fans.
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However, the Republican-controlled congress is reportedly going to be “very aggressive in rolling back” some of the regulations that evolved from Biden’s climate agenda, Palmer said.
