U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) recently joined several other Republicans in opposing a suggested federal ban on gas stoves made by a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Along with eight of their U.S. Senate colleagues, the lawmakers sent a Jan. 19 letter to CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric also requesting additional information about the CPSC’s plans regarding such proposed action.
Their letter responds to a Jan. 9 Bloomberg article outlining CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka’s desire to see gas stoves banned.
“Since that time, our offices have fielded numerous calls from concerned constituents worried that they may not be able to purchase a new gas stove for their home moving forward,” the senators wrote.
And though “pleased” that the chairman on Jan. 11 issued a statement saying the CPSC is “not looking to ban gas stoves” at this time, they said Commissioner Trumka’s comments have created too many uncertainties that need to be cleared up.
“It is our hope that by getting additional information, we can better understand how the CPSC plans to move forward on this issue,” according to the letter, which included signatures from Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA).
Sen. Scott, Sen. Wicker, and their colleagues wrote that they remain concerned about regulatory overreach from federal agencies, and that denying consumers choice by deciding to ban gas stoves would distort the marketplace and ultimately raise consumer costs.
“Rather than pursuing this outright ban, we believe it would be most appropriate for the CPSC to gather additional information on the scope of the problem and, if appropriate, work with manufacturers to ensure that these stoves are as safe as possible,” they wrote.