Vice President Kamala Harris’ Thanksgiving tweet backfired after eagle-eyed social media users noticed she was using a kitchen appliance that the Biden administration proposed banning earlier this year.
“From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving,” Harris published on Thursday Xincluding a photo of her next to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, a casserole dish and a gas stove.
Harris, 59, was criticized for the publication, with many conservatives accusing her of “hypocrisy.”
“Wait… that’s a gas stove! The same kind of Democrats who want to ban him from possession,” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in X.
“Gas stoves for me, but not for you,” tweeted Senate Republican staffer Charles Correll III.
“I thought gas stoves were bad for the environment,” said actor Kevin Sorbo, highlighting the impetus behind the ban on stoves and other natural gas-powered appliances in Democratic-controlled California cities such as San Francisco and Berkeley.
White House says President Biden would not support a federal ban on gas stoves: Appliance Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff were photographed outside Thanksgiving. Vice President Kamala Harris/X
In January, concerns about a possible federal ban on gas stoves arose after a Biden administration appointee suggested that a ban on gas stoves was “on the table,” reportedly due to potentially dangerous levels of toxic chemicals emitted by popular household appliances.
“This is a hidden danger,” Richard Trumka Jr., commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Any option is on the table. “Products that cannot be made safe can be banned.”
Trumka Jr., son of the late AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka, later recanted his comments.
“To be clear, the CPSC is not coming for anyone’s gas stoves,” he tweeted. “Regulations apply to new products.”
The CPSC chairman also distanced himself from Trumka Jr.’s initial statement.
“I’m not out to ban gas stoves, and the CPSC has no procedure to do so,” said Alex Hoehn-Saric, one of the commission’s five members.
Likewise, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in January that “the president does not support a ban on gas stoves.”
A Biden administration official raised a ban on gas stoves earlier this year before walking back his comments. AFP via Getty Images
The Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill in June that would prevent the CPSC from finalizing any rule banning gas stoves.
Only 29 Democrats voted in favor of the bill.
Concerns were revived in February after the Department of Energy proposed an “energy efficiency standard” for gas cooking products. The proposed regulation would require an energy efficiency standard for residential kitchens for the first time.
The DOE scoffed at suggestions that the new rule would lead to a ban on gas stoves as “absurd.”
“Neither the DOE nor the federal government plans to ban gas stoves. In February 2023, the DOE released a proposal that would improve the efficiency of electric and gas stoves. If implemented, the rules would not take effect until 2027 and would help American consumers save up to $1.7 billion. “As mandated by Congress, DOE is determined to ensure that consumers have multiple options that are cost-effective and energy efficient,” the agency said in a statement.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told congressional lawmakers in March that about half of the gas stoves currently on the market would be affected by the proposed rule: those that are “high-end” with “heavy grates.” and oval-shaped burners, which, according to her, contain lead. to “an excessive amount of natural gas that will be emitted relative to the pot that is there.”
Granholm noted that it would cost about $12 per appliance to bring them into compliance with the proposed regulation.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation in April requiring all new buildings under seven stories to be all-electric by 2026, and larger structures three years later — an effective ban on gas stoves.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn