Biden's Mendacious Electrification Agenda

Last fall the Biden campaign issued a terse statement proclaiming that “There is no ‘EV mandate',” in response to Donald Trump's well-received speech to auto-workers arguing that the administration's push for EVs would inevitably lead to their losing their jobs.

Similarly, almost since Biden walked into the Oval Office, we've heard rumors of a potential bans on gas stoves, only to have them furiously -- and unconvincingly -- denied by the White House and its ideological allies. The Department of Energy even put out a statement calling the gas stove rumors a “myth” and “misinformation" -- after, that is, Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. gave an interview in which he said that a ban was "on the table."

More recently, the Biden Administration asked the Ninth Circuit court to reconsider its decision to strike down Berkeley, California's ordinance banning natural gas hook-ups in new construction projects. If they're so adamant that they're not banning gas stoves, why is the White House so concerned about this precedent being set in Berkeley?

REP. CORI BUSH: "This proposed rule is not a ban on gas stoves! We are regulating indoor air pollution."

And they called you paranoid for thinking they were coming for your gas stoves...They're just 'regulating indoor air pollution.' pic.twitter.com/5ZkMKLSPvr

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 24, 2023

The thing is, the Biden White House is clearly angling to make both electric vehicles and electric stoves universal, and to consign their chief competitors to the ash heap of history. It's just that they recognize how incredibly unpopular their plans are, even in many Blue states, and that they must tread cautiously if they want them to be fully realized.

Consequently they've been speaking in code, talking about their “building electrification” agenda, in the hopes that that wouldn't set off any alarm bells. And of course that fact allows them to be more ambitious. Which is to say -- it's not just about stoves anymore. It's everything. This is from a recent report at The Daily Caller:

The DOE released a report in April describing all of the ways it would like to decarbonize America’s building stock in the coming decades by pushing electric vehicles, electric appliances and substantial changes to how the utility industry operates. The Biden administration has also banned the use of natural gas in new federal buildings starting in 2030 and spent considerable sums of money to help state and municipal governments craft their own ambitious green building codes....

The administration has also issued a bevy of regulations targeting household appliances, including furnaces, water heaters, dishwashers, portable gas-powered generators pool pump motors and more. In many cases, these standards are designed to push more energy efficient, and often electric or more expensive, appliances on consumers over time.

The Caller quotes O.H. Skinner, the executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, on the sleight of hand being attempted here:

Basically, they’re saying, ‘We’re not banning gas stoves, we’re just pushing broad housing efficiency and building code standards for health and safety that make it nearly impossible for normal consumers or businesses to access products they may want, but we’re not banning anything,'

I think a good example that applies to the spirit of the green buildings agenda is the fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. Bureaucrats say, ‘We’re not trying to ban gas powered cars, but we are going to impose efficiency standards that can only be met if the vast majority of cars sold are electric cars.’ So, in theory, you can still, right now, get a gas powered car, but they are making it so that that access is not going to be actually possible for everyday people, just an elite and ever-shrinking few.

Be aware of what's going on here. We can't let them get away with this.