In a recent exclusive report, Fox News revealed that the Biden administration has granted elevated access to the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), an organization with significant ties to the Chinese government, which has spearheaded a push to ban gas stoves in the United States.
The report further states that RMI has been awarded millions of dollars in federal funding for various green energy projects over the past two years, and has recently received a $4.4 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate an integrated retrofit package of envelope panels, a heat pump pod, and innovative financing in a Massachusetts building.
Representative Bill Huizenga, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee’s oversight subcommittee, expressed deep concerns over the Biden administration’s association with RMI, noting that the organization’s ties to the Chinese government should be alarming to any member of the Cabinet.
In a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Huizenga stated that RMI’s push to ban gas stoves is part of a radical energy agenda that will raise costs on American families and small businesses.
Huizenga’s letter comes after RMI funded a study highlighting the public health dangers posed by gas stove usage, which was cited in a Bloomberg article that included comments from a Consumer Product Safety Commission member who told the outlet a gas stove ban was “on the table.”
However, following widespread criticism of plans to restrict gas stove usage, the White House said it didn’t support a ban on the appliance and Granholm called a ban “ridiculous.”
Several Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about how the administration has consulted with RMI on multiple occasions, with Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri stating that “Biden’s people are using China-backed talking points to take away gas stoves,” and Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas adding that “China’s fingerprints seem to be on everything, including our energy policy.”
In response to the concerns raised by Republicans, a White House spokesperson stated that the meetings between RMI and administration officials were about infrastructure and jobs, not a debunked conspiracy theory. The DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bureaucratic attempts to ban gas stoves in the United States would present an obvious and unreasonable burden on American families and businesses.
In January, Representative Huizenga and Representative Alex Mooney of West Virginia introduced the Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy Act, which would prohibit federal agencies from banning gas stoves or other gas-powered appliances.
In conclusion, the Biden administration’s association with RMI, an organization with significant ties to the Chinese government, has raised concerns among Republican lawmakers about a potential ban on gas stoves in the United States.
While the administration has denied supporting such a ban, the push towards electrification and green energy initiatives remains a contentious issue.
Republican lawmakers are calling for caution in investigating the origin of any related idea that would impose costs on American families, and are taking steps to prevent federal agencies from banning gas stoves or other gas-powered appliances.
