Gas furnace ban moves closer to being overturned

A Ted Cruz-led effort to overturn the Department of Energy’s gas furnace requirement recently received bipartisan support and passed in the Senate.

Background: The Department of Energy (DOE) in September issued a rule requiring indoor gas furnaces to be 95% efficient starting in 2028.

• “DOE expects these standards to cumulatively save consumers $24.8 billion on their energy bills over 30 years,” the DOE says.

What’s happening: Gas industry groups initially sued the DOE, claiming the rule “effectively bans the sale of non-condensing natural gas furnaces.”

• In February, Senator Ted Cruz authored a resolution — a written proposal — to overturn the rule, noting, “Eliminating all non-condensing natural gas furnaces will only serve to further hurt families who are already struggling to get by.”

• On May 21, the Senate voted to pass the resolution. 

Later that day, however, The White House issued a statement saying the President would veto the resolution if it reached his desk.

• “DOE determined that these standards will result in significant conservation of energy, are technologically feasible, and economically justified,” the statement says.

What’s next: The resolution is heading to the House of Representatives for a vote. “I urge the House to take up this Resolution expeditiously and pass it,” says Cruz.