WASHINGTON, D.C.— Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and 15 of their Senate Western Caucus colleagues in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to block the U.S. Department of Energy’s final rule on gas furnace efficiency standards. The Biden administration’s rule is set to go into effect on February 16, 2024, and forces manufacturers to only sell furnaces that convert at least 95% of fuel into heat. This unobtainable new standard effectively bans all non-condensing furnace models, forcing a majority of American households to adopt electric heat pumps or spend thousands of dollars to renovate their homes to meet the new requirements.
“This administration has made it crystal clear that it will stop at nothing to fulfill its extreme Green New Deal agenda, even if that comes at the expense of the people of Wyoming,” said Lummis. “Asking working class families or small businesses in Wyoming to shell out thousands of dollars to appease limousine liberals demonstrates how out of touch this president is with the needs of everyday Americans. The people of Wyoming should have the freedom to pick whatever kind of appliance they want in their home. I will continue to work with my colleagues to protect these freedoms from this gross and unjustified overreach.”
“This administration doesn’t care that their radical climate agenda will have a catastrophic impact on American families and small businesses. I’m committed to doing everything in my power to push back against this rule that puts the radical left’s fringe climate agenda before the needs of the American people,” said Cruz.
Sens. James Risch (R-ID), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Mike Crapo (R-ID), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Eric Schmidt (R-MO) cosponsored the resolution.
Full text of the resolution, click here.
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