Comer, Fallon Probe Biden Admin Proposed Rule to Ban Portable Generators

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Pat Fallon (R-Texas) today are furthering the Committee’s oversight of the Biden Administration’s efforts to overregulate gas appliances and products out of existence. In a letter to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Republican lawmakers request documents, information, and a staff-level briefing from the CPSC related to its new proposed rulemaking which would apply to portable engine-driven generators used by industrial workers. The lawmakers warn the rule violates CPSC authority under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) by overstepping to regulate industrial products, and request information to better understand how the rule will impact manufacturing costs and worker productivity.

“The Committee seeks information to understand CPSC’s rationale for regulating industrial products squarely outside of its jurisdiction, CPSC’s evaluation of stakeholder concerns, and CPSC’s inadequate health and cost analyses,” wrote the lawmakers.

In 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notified CPSC that it does not have the authority to regulate portable generator emissions under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), yet CPSC is attempting to regulate these products. The Oversight Committee has held multiple hearings to examine how the Biden Administration’s overregulation of products using gas—including gas stoves—eliminates certain products from the market and raises costs and burdens for manufacturers. The Committee is requesting agencies provide proper health and cost analyses to justify proposed rules.

“The Rule’s impact on industrial products exceeds CPSC’s mission to focus strictly on consumer products. Even for consumers, CPSC has increasingly overstepped its authority by advancing policies restricting consumer choice. Under the Biden Administration, products using gas, diesel, or propane—like engine-driven portable welders and gas stoves—have faced unprecedented scrutiny over health concerns without adequate analysis on behalf of rulemaking authorities,” the lawmakers continued.

Read the letter to CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric here.