[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Appropriations

  Mr. President, on a related matter, the sooner we pass the NDAA, the 
sooner we can deliver on full-year appropriations for defense and each 
of the other areas Senator Collins, Senator Murray, and our colleagues 
are working to finish in committee.
  I am grateful for our colleagues' commitment to a regular order 
appropriations process. Funding the government on schedule means 
fulfilling one of the Senate's most basic responsibilities. But just as 
important as the must-pass measures that are kept in are the radical 
ideas that are actually kept out.
  Here is an example: Last week, the Appropriations Committee adopted 
an amendment to prevent unelected administration bureaucrats from 
abandoning the use of affordable and efficient gas appliances in 
American homes and small businesses.
  The Biden Energy Department's proposed rule regulating gas stoves 
into extinction is just one of the many ways Washington Democrats want 
to let elite coastal liberals impose their preferences on all 50 States 
and spend truckloads of taxpayer dollars accordingly.
  DOE's latest rule would effectively ban 96 percent of the gas stoves 
currently in use in America, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission 
has begun work on a potential gas stove ban of their own.
  Unelected bureaucrats are preparing to pounce, and working families 
and small businesses across the country are rightly worried. One 
hospitality industry expert in West Virginia called the cost of 
switching a kitchen to electric from cheaper and more efficient gas as 
a multithousand dollar thing.
  ``A multi-thousand dollar thing,'' that would mean lower quality and 
longer wait times.
  Well, as with any number of other radical climate ideas, some of our 
Democratic colleagues don't seem to care about these real-world 
impacts. And in this case, some have been downright oblivious to the 
threat.
  Back in 2021, Senator Barrasso proposed an amendment to ensure that 
Democrats' radical climate regulations couldn't restrict the use of gas 
appliances. But the senior Senator from West Virginia led the vote 
against the amendment in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 
and Senate Democrats blocked it again on the floor for good measure.
  In response to Senator Barrasso's concerns on behalf of working 
families and small businesses, Senator Manchin said:

       I don't see that happening.

  ``I don't see that happening.'' Even as Senator Manchin offered the 
reckless taxing and spending spree that gave $840 in special rebates 
for folks to swap their gas stoves for the electric ranges that 
activists prefer.
  Well, it appears our colleague has since changed his tune. This time 
around, he sponsored the amendment blocking the sort of radical 
regulation he couldn't imagine just 2 years ago.
  As our colleagues continue to make headway on the regular order 
appropriations, I am glad this commonsense measure has earned 
bipartisan support.
  But it really begs the question: Wouldn't working families and small 
businesses be better off if Washington Democrats would just stand up to 
the radical climate regulations in the first place?
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The majority whip.