West
Experts rip 'triple crown of bad regs' as Biden admin posts gas stove rule it denied was a ban
After repeatedly denying that it wants to formally ban natural gas-powered stoves, the Energy Department posted to the Federal Register its finalized regulation targeting kitchen appliances.
Critics from Congress to energy advocacy groups slammed the new rule, which administration officials have long denied would constitute a ban.
But American Energy Alliance president Tom Pyle said it nonetheless wins the “Triple Crown for bad regulations.”
“It’s ineffective, unnecessary, and likely illegal,” Pyle said, going on to acknowledge that the administration had watered down the original 2023-drafted policy.
BIDEN ADMIN BACKS OFF GAS STOVE CRACKDOWN AFTER WIDESPREAD PUSHBACK
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“After receiving severe backlash for moving to ban gas stoves, the Biden-Harris administration settled for this rule, which they claim would lower costs for families. Of course, what they don’t tell you is their so-called savings is a mere 21 cents a year.”
Pyle said that if Democrats continue to hold power, the rule will be a “mere down payment” on future regulatory overreach that will try to control other mundane aspects of daily life like cooking.
“American consumers [are] fully capable of choosing the appliances that best suit their needs,” he said.
The Department of Energy, however, defended the regulation — including against claims that it had waffled on the matter.
A spokesman said the rule posted to the Federal Register mirrors the regulation devised earlier in the year, and that this final rule has the support of groups like the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
A spokesman for the Energy Department it is “building on decades-long efforts with industry to ensure our appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money.”
“When you look past misleading rhetoric, you’ll see that our appliance standards actions are intended for nothing more than promoting innovation and increasing energy efficiency without sacrificing the reliability and performance that Americans have come to expect and rely on,” they said.
However, lawmakers who have tried to blunt “bans” or regulations on home appliances and other implements that require fossil fuel power were not convinced of the new rule’s benefits.
In 2023, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., successfully drafted an amendment to an energy bill that would prohibit Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s department from implementing the original energy standard for cooktops.
“If this draconian rule were carried out, it would eliminate anywhere between 50-95% of today’s gas appliances,” Newhouse said at the time.
WHITE HOUSE FINALIZES RULE INCREASING CLEAN ENERGY SUBSIDIES FIVEFOLD IN BID TO SUPPORT GREEN JOBS
President Biden. (Getty Images)
“Gas appliances are at the center of American households. They power our stoves, furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces,” he said, calling natural gas “affordable, reliable and safe.”
On Thursday, a spokesman for Newhouse said the lawmaker’s efforts were a “leading factor” in having the original rule rescinded and revised to its current form.
“While this new rule will still require strenuous federal oversight by Congress, it does prevent states like California and Washington from implementing sweeping, radical rules that are completely unreasonable for consumers and producers and will only pave the way for other states to follow,” the spokesman said.
Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., whose Gas Stove Protection & Freedom Act passed the House but has languished in the Senate for a year, called the new rule being posted “incredibly frustrating and out of touch.”
“Americans are concerned about the fentanyl crisis that is crippling communities, and many Americans are worried about being able to provide for their families and put food on the table. Instead of considering the immediate needs of many Americans, the administration has chosen to prioritize attacking gas stoves to appease climate extremists,” Armstrong said, adding that it shows that the administration wants to control every aspect of life.
Heritage Action for America Vice President Ryan Walker said the Department of Energy is “villanizing natural gas” despite its affordability and clean-burning qualities.
“After insisting they had no plans to ban gas stoves, the Biden-Harris administration just plowed ahead with its new rule that may price the hugely popular appliances out of existence,” Walker said, adding, “The Left only cares about virtue signaling and pandering to their extreme base, not the hardworking Americans trying to make ends meet and put food on the table. The next conservative administration can and should reverse the Biden-Harris appliance crackdown.”
Democrats who were either vociferously opposed to Republican efforts to blunt regulations or in favor of such rules did not offer reaction to the news.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., the ranking member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, said of 2023 efforts to stop such regulation, “House Republicans are once again putting polluters over people.”
Pallone did not respond to a request for comment.
Neither did Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., who previously called cost-related concerns about forcing Americans off natural gas a “conspiracy theory cooked up to embroil Congress in culture wars that shed more heat than light on the issues facing our nation.”
The Philadelphia lawmaker said in 2023 the rule proposed at the time would save consumers $1.7 billion collectively.
One longtime Democrat did, however, speak out against the original 2023 draft of the rule, as Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., said the feds “have no business telling American families how to cook their dinner.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The San Francisco Giants conclude this four-game series against the Colorado Rockies this afternoon from Oracle Park.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Trevor McDonald, who enters today’s game with a 5.46 ERA, 3.99 FIP, with 50 strikeouts to 20 walks in 59.1 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 9-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, in which he allowed eight runs on 11 hits and one walk in two and a third innings.
He’ll be facing off against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who enters today’s game with a 6.46 ERA, 4.83 FIP, with 72 strikeouts to 35 walks in 92 innings pitched. His last start was in the Rockies’ 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, in which he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
Who: San Francisco Giants vs. Colorado Rockies
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
The Nuggets have made a habit of signing bench players with Colorado ties.
The latest homecoming they’ve arranged is for Alpha Diallo, who played a season of high school basketball at Denver West and is now signing a one-year, $1.4 million minimum contract with Denver in NBA free agency, a league source told The Denver Post on Sunday.
Diallo, 29, was named Defensive Player of the Year in the EuroLeague last season. This will be his first foray into the NBA after a five-year stint with AS Monaco. He recently committed to join Dubai Basketball on a multiyear deal, according to a report by the European media outlet BasketNews, but his contract included a clause granting his release if he left for the NBA by July 15.
The Nuggets have signed Diallo, Reggie Jackson (Palmer High School), David Roddy (Colorado State) and KJ Simpson (CU) to various deals in the last three years.
Born in New York, Diallo helped lead Denver West to the Colorado Class 4A Sweet 16 as a sophomore. He transferred to Lincoln High before his junior season, but he was ruled ineligible to compete for the entire school year due to what CHSAA deemed an implicit recruiting violation; Lincoln’s coach at the time had just coached Diallo in a summer tournament.
The eligibility fight with CHSAA eventually led Diallo to leave the state. He returned to the East Coast and played four years of college basketball at Providence, where he earned Second Team All-Big East honors twice.
Signing Diallo is the latest example of Denver’s attempt to prioritize defense and athleticism around Nikola Jokic. Last month, the Nuggets drafted Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins in the second round, betting on defensive upside in both cases. They’ve also replaced backup center Jonas Valanciunas with the younger, bouncier Marvin Bagley III on a veteran minimum contract.
Denver tentatively has 12 players under contract on its 15-man roster for the 2026-27 season now: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, Zeke Nnaji, Julian Strawther, DaRon Holmes II, Tyus Jones, Bagley, Brazile and Diallo. Restricted free agency negotiations have not yet been resolved with Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones.
Diallo will count for $2.45 million toward the luxury tax despite his $1.4 million salary, the minimum for NBA rookies. The accounting quirk exists so that owners aren’t incentivized to overlook more experienced free agents for tax purposes; the tax ramifications are equal for all minimum signings, regardless of NBA service time.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Portlanders are being invited to help BIKETOWN mark its 10th birthday with what organizers hope will become a new world record: the largest electric bicycle party and ride.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation is organizing a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS attempt on Sunday, July 19, aiming to beat the current record set in Seattle in 2018 with 405 e-bikes. PBOT is seeking the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the Largest Electric Bicycle Party and Ride.
Riders will gather at Salmon Springs, the fountain in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, starting at 8:30 a.m.
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m., and the ride is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. from Southwest Naito Parkway and Southwest Salmon Street. PBOT said the date is “10-years-to-the-day since BIKETOWN service started with a maiden voyage group ride across the Willamette River.”
“I can’t wait to see all of Portland come out to celebrate the ways BIKETOWN has transformed our community,” PBOT Director Millicent Williams said. “Since 2016, BIKETOWN has introduced thousands of Portlanders to biking, and e-bikes in particular, and made biking more accessible for more people. By breaking this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title, we will remind everyone of Portland’s place at the front of the pack of leading bike cities across the nation.”
PBOT said the event is designed for massive participation and will follow a 2-mile loop that includes Tilikum Crossing, the Eastbank Esplanade and the Hawthorne Bridge, taking place mostly on the Waterfront and Eastbank Esplanade. Organizers said participants should expect a slow ride with some stops and are asked to stay on the route to be counted, while watching for pedestrians and other riders.
People riding personal e-bikes and pedal bikes are welcome, though PBOT said only e-bikes will be counted toward the record attempt. PBOT said registration is strongly encouraged to ensure riders are counted and that participants will need to provide their e-bike make and model. Riders are also encouraged to arrive early to check in and get a bib.
For people without an e-bike, PBOT said BIKETOWN will have bikes available to reserve on a first-come, first-served basis, with early registration recommended. Riders must be 16 or older to use BIKETOWN.
After the ride, PBOT said the event will conclude with a celebration featuring vendors, refreshments and remarks from City of Portland and BIKETOWN partners. PBOT said an official judge from Guinness World Records is expected to verify the attempt and confirm whether Portland set a new record.
PBOT also encouraged participants to head to the Portland Pride Parade and Festival afterward. The first 1,000 people who register for the ride will receive free entry to the Pride Festival, supported by BIKETOWN founding partner and title sponsor Nike.
PBOT said the event is possible with financial support from Nike, with additional support from Lyft and the City of Portland.
BIKETOWN launched July 19, 2016, with 1,000 bikes. PBOT said the system has deployed 3,000 electric pedal-assist bicycles serving a 50.5-square-mile service area, including portions of East Portland. BIKETOWN is a partnership between the City of Portland’s PBOT and Nike, and is operated by Lyft.
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