The Senate approved a resolution that would roll back the Department of Energy’s energy efficiency standards for gas furnaces, setting the measure up for an expected veto from President Joe Biden.
The disapproval resolution, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), would overturn a finalized rule from the DOE that would mandate energy efficiency standards for residential gas furnaces, with the aim of saving consumers money and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Cruz and other Republicans said the policy would effectively ban all non-condensing furnace models, forcing consumers to either adopt electric heat pumps or pay a high price to meet the requirements of the new residential furnaces.
“This rule is a continuation of the Biden administration’s capitulation to environmental radicals who value following climate dogma more than helping families actually provide for their kids and save for the future,” Cruz said during floor remarks.
The measure passed 50 to 45 with support of all present Republicans. Several Democrats crossed the aisle, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Bob Casey (D-PA), as well as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).
Earlier on Tuesday, the White House issued a statement of administrative policy stating Biden would veto the measure, defending the rule as “technologically feasible, and economically justified.”
Senate Democrats defended the rule with climate hawk Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), who was the author of the first act to set mandatory standards for appliances, calling the regulation a “commonsense upgrade.”
“It’s just working smarter, not harder,” Markey said during floor remarks. “Using less electricity, using less energy.”
The DOE rule, which took effect in February, would aim to slash household utility costs by $1.5 billion annually and $24.8 billion on energy bills over 30 years. Over the same period, the agency expects that updating these efficiency standards will cut 332 million metric tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of the combined annual emissions of 42 million homes.
These efficiency standards were last updated in 2007.
