Staff Reports
On April 26, Senator Ted Cruz and Representative James Comer demanded access to more information on activist groups that are behind a movement to ban gas stoves. According to an exclusive report by the Daily Caller News Foundation, the lawmakers wanted additional details regarding the work of these organizations, including consumer advocacy nonprofit Consumer Reports, electrification nonprofit Rewiring America, conservation group Windward Fund, and climate policy nonprofit Climate Imperative Foundation (CIF).
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨 from @jhdreporting @tedcruz and @RepJamesComer GOP Lawmakers Double-Down On Investigation Into Activist Groups Pushing To Ban Gas Stoveshttps://t.co/fLFfkOdr33
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 1, 2023
In March, Senator Cruz had asked each organization in multiple oversight letters to provide information on whether they had approached the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to pursue a gas stove ban. However, he and Comer criticized the groups for their inadequate responses, with Rewiring America, in particular, receiving heavy criticism for only providing a one-paragraph reply that read like an “About Us” section on its website.
The lawmakers stated that such insufficient cooperation with Congress and the American public is unacceptable, calling for the groups to respond fully to their queries by May 10.
The push for gas stove bans comes after CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.’s comments on implementing regulations on gas stoves due to potential health risks. Trumika even proposed a gas stove ban in an October 2022 memo, citing research funded by CIF and carried out by Consumer Reports.
Interestingly, the CIF had listed Wang Yi, Deputy Director-General of the Institute of Policy and Management for the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as an advisor to the organization until February 2023. Wang also serves as a legislator in China, according to the state-sponsored Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences.
The Republicans also questioned Rewiring America and its backer Windward Fund about the $400,000 funding that the groups received from CIF and how they had utilized the funds. Secretary Jennifer Granholm of the Department of Energy, a Biden appointee, had promoted the Inflation reduction act on Twitter. She cited a study from Talor Gruenwald, a researcher with Rewiring America, that reportedly attributed 13% of childhood asthma cases in the US to gas stove use.
On March 16, Senator Cruz had previously written to the CPSC, demanding that the agency maintain records related to the potential ban, as part of his earlier request for documents involving the agency’s association with environmental groups. On March 1, the CPSC had opened up a public request for information on the detrimental effects of gas stove emissions, the response to which could lead to a ban in the future.
Consumer Reports, Rewiring America, Windward Fund, and CIF have not yet commented on the Republican lawmakers’ queries.
