02.02.24

Hoeven Introduces CRA to Block the Biden Administration’s Residential Gas Furnace Rule

Legislation Would Ensure Consumers have Continued Access to Conventional, More Affordable Natural Gas Furnaces

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, this week joined Senator Ted Cruz in introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the U.S. Department of Energy’s final rule on gas furnace efficiency standards. The Biden administration’s rule will go into effect on February 16, 2024, forcing manufacturers to sell only furnaces that convert at least 95% of fuel into heat. The rule will effectively ban all non-condensing furnace models, forcing a majority of American households to adopt electric heat pumps or pay thousands of dollars to renovate their homes to meet the requirements of new residential gas furnaces.

“The Biden administration is once again putting their Green New Deal agenda before consumers and everyday Americans,” said Hoeven. “Our CRA will stop the Biden DOE’s rule, which is a de facto ban on the sale of conventional, more affordable natural gas furnaces, and ensure that consumers continue to have the option to use these furnaces.”

In addition to Hoeven and Cruz, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators James Risch, Cynthia Lummis, Dan Sullivan, John Kennedy, Bill Hagerty, Pete Ricketts, Mike Crapo, Rick Scott, Shelley Moore Capito, Roger Wicker, Marsha Blackburn, Ron Johnson,  James Lankford, Mike Lee, Steve Daines, Chuck Grassley, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mike Braun, Markwayne Mullin, Katie Britt, J.D. Vance, Eric Schmitt, Kevin Cramer, Deb Fischer, Tommy Tuberville, Mike Rounds, Roger Marshall, and Lindsey Graham. Representatives Michelle Fischbach and Pat Fallon introduced a companion resolution in the House of Representatives.

Read the full text of the resolution here.