Rep. Massie: Biden's 'war on gas stoves' punishes blue collar Americans

Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie slammed President Biden’s “war on gas stoves” on Tuesday, saying it harms lower-income citizens and has nothing to do with public health, like Democrats claim.

Rep. Massie’s comments were made during a House debate over five bills, including two — the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act and the Save Our Gas Stoves Act — aimed at preventing Biden from restricting gas-powered stoves in U.S. homes.

The bills were slated for a vote last week but were delayed after a group of Republicans blocked the House’s ability to move forward with voting. The delay is expected to cease Tuesday.

During the session, Massie emphasized that “the war on gas stoves” is a “war on the middle class and poor,” citing that “affordable heating and cooking” is at stake.

“When the electricity goes out… whose stove works? Who can boil water to drink when [it’s] unsafe?” he asked rhetorically. “The ones who have gas stoves.”

In April, 13 Republican senators expressed concern that low-income families can’t afford the electric alternative.

Massie also pushed back on the claim that said that the so-called “stove ban” is “not about safety,” stating that the Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor Air Quality “has never identified gas stoves as contributing to asthma or respiratory illness,” nor has the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ever dubbed them a “significant” issue in terms of air quality or “health hazard.”

Controversy over the kitchen appliance began in January, when CPSC’s Richard Trumka Jr. called the stoves a “hidden hazard” over its pollutant emissions and suggested "products that can't be made safe can be banned."

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