Legacy media wants you to believe that the Right is in hysterics over some rumor that the Biden administration wants to ban gas stoves. In fact, some are even alleging that conservatives started another fight in the culture war needlessly.
Yet the idea that the federal government wants to ban gas stoves didn’t come out of left field, and it didn’t start this week.
In December, Richard Trumka Jr., the Senate-confirmed commissioner of the United States Consumer Protection and Safety Commission (CPSC), expressed his desire to eliminate the products from the market while telling like-minded individuals that the federal government could regulate the products so quickly with “enough public pressure.”
During a webinar titled “Pollution-free cooking for the holidays,” Trumka told the non-profit consumer advocacy group U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) how the Biden administration is tackling the supposed dangers of gas stoves indoors.
Trumka, speaking with a group he said he calls on “without fail” for guidance on certain topics, stated, “I think we need to be talking about regulating gas stoves — whether that’s drastically improving emissions or banning gas stoves entirely.”
Banning gas stoves didn’t come out of left field.
Here’s CPSC commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr. in December:
“We ought to keep that possibility of a [gas stove] ban in mind, as you follow along, because it's a powerful tool in our toolbox and it's a real possibility here.” pic.twitter.com/GSfjwLJPPG
— Tim Meads (@TimMeadsUSA) January 12, 2023
Trumka encouraged all participants “to keep that possibility of a ban in mind” while adding that regulatory authority is “a powerful tool in our toolbox and it’s a real possibility.”
To make that dream become a reality, Trumka informed USPIRG that the CPSC would be opening a public commenting period in March. Regularly, when a federal agency is considering a new regulatory rule, they invite the public — whether it be consumers, advocacy groups, or somebody else — to submit feedback and ideas that may help guide the rule-making decision before beginning the rule-finalizing process.
“Now, this public request for information is the first step in what could be a long journey towards regulating gas stoves, but I’m here to tell you that with enough public pressure, it doesn’t have to be,” Trumka proclaimed. “We could get a regulation on the books before this time next year.”
The son of the deceased union boss Richard Trumka Sr. admitted that it was a daunting task, given the slowness of the federal government, but pledged to barrel over any speed bumps with the help of anti-gas stove Americans.
“It’s absolutely possible,” he said of imposing new regulations within 12 months. “Just because the federal government isn’t known for moving quickly — doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. And my number one goal as a commissioner is to push our agency farther and faster than it has ever moved.”
Trumka, Jr. isn’t treating this as a personal pet project either.
In December, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congressman Donald Beyer (D-VA) sent a joint letter “calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to take swift action to protect Americans from gas stove pollution,” as summarized by USPIRG.
While the letter stopped short of suggesting the U.S. ban gas stoves, it did recommend at least considering heavy regulation of the products.
It should be noted that controversy gained steam this week when Trumka stated in a recent interview that “any option is on the table” regarding the indoor cooking appliance. But, as the video from late last year shows, that was not some off-the-cuff remark for Trumka. It is a serious potential policy “solution” for him.
So rather than looking at the fact that it was the Biden administration and elected Democrats who started this assault on gas stoves, media outlets are claiming that there is no reason for concern.
Leftists point to the fact CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said, “I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so” as evidence that this couldn’t become a reality.
Yet just because Hoehn-Saric feels that way doesn’t mean that others with authority, such as Trumka, aren’t seriously considering it.
It seems the Biden administration can technically say there’s “no proceeding” to ban gas stoves because the public comment period hasn’t started yet. Again, that period is set to start in March, and then the official rule-making process begins.
Regardless, outlets such as Axios are writing, “Despite official insistence that fears of a ban are unfounded, conservatives are suddenly championing gas stoves in a new culture war.”
Yet those fears aren’t unfounded, and it wasn’t conservatives who shot the opening salvo in this latest debate. It was folks like Trumka who voiced his desire to hear from advocates who want to ban gas stoves or heavily regulate otherwise so that the feds can get to it as quickly as possible.
PS: Isn’t it bad journalism for Axios to simply take “official insistence” at face value? That’s assuming they want to partake in journalism at all and not run cover for the Democrats.
The full video of Trumka’s December webinar remarks can be seen here:
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.