Rep. Cori bush (D-MO), a Democrat, criticized Republicans over their concerns about legislation regulating gas appliances. She said they were more concerned with appliances than climate changes.

Bush, during the hearing, said that “the proposed rule” is not an outright ban on gas stoves. “We regulate indoor air pollution.”

In February, the Department of Energy announced its “Energy Policy and Conservation Program”, which allowed the DOE to establish new efficiency and energy conservation standards for conventional consumer cooking products. This included gas stoves. In a memo, the DOE stated that if today’s proposed rules were implemented, at least half of U.S. gas stove models would be ineligible to be repurchased in stores.

The House Oversight Committee invited two DOE officials to testify. Alejandro Moreno was the acting assistant secretaries for the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Dr. Carolyn Snyder was the deputy assistant secretary. However, both declined on Wednesday. In refusing to testify, the DOE cited their rulemaking process for their new appliance standards.

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Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-AZ, introduced H.R. The Save Our Gas Stoves Act 1640 would prevent the Department of Energy implementing or enforcing their “Energy Policy and Conservation Program”, or the rulemaking that was introduced last month, which would have allowed it to set up new energy efficiency and conserving standards for conventional cooking products including gas stoves. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-ND, introduced H.R. 1615 (also known as the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act) would prevent the Consumer Product Safety Commission using federal funds to prohibit gas stoves.

The Washington Examiner quoted Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, the Chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (R-WA), who praised the bills. “Forcing families to switch to more expensive alternatives would only increase costs and disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable communities,” she said. Bush said that the proposal was not a gas stove ban, but rather a regulation to reduce “indoor pollution.”