Democrats and Republicans banded together to pass a bill on Tuesday aimed at blocking the Biden administration from banning everyday home appliances that run on natural gas.
The Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act, which passed 212 to 195, is one facet of a sweeping bill targeting the Department of Energy (DOE) introduced by Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz.
Seven Democrats voted in favor of the bill, which received no Republican dissent.
The bill would force the DOE to consider the cost-effectiveness of any new policy standards, including how any updates affecting home appliances would hit low-income families, and would mandate that the department factor in the full-life cycle costs of those appliances before issuing new guidance.
“I am saddened that we would need such a bill,” Lesko told Fox News Digital in a statement. “However, as we have experienced under this administration, the Department of Energy has unleashed an avalanche of new regulations for household products, including stoves, dishwashers, washing machines, showers, toilets, water heaters, air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces.”
She added, “No government bureaucrat should ever scheme to take away Americans’ appliances in the name of a radical environmental agenda.”
