E&C approves ban on Russian uranium, gas stove rules

The House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved a bill that would ban Russian enriched uranium.

• The committee also approved bills attacking Biden administration efforts to promote energy efficiency and consumer safety in the cooking appliance market, which the GOP is calling a “gas stove ban.”

Why it matters: The GOP energy proposals that will head to the House floor mix supply chain policy and consumer choice politics.

Driving the news: The committee cleared on a 29-21 vote the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, which would generally ban uranium enriched in Russia from entering the U.S.

• The legislation "sends a strong signal to the market that will help restore American nuclear leadership and fuel infrastructure," said Energy and Commerce chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the bill's sponsor.
• It would let federal officials allow certain amounts of Russian uranium to be imported if officials determine its in the national interest.
• That language may prove useful if the bill becomes law. Russia is a global uranium enrichment hub and it remains to be seen if the U.S., or its allies, will easily fill the gap in the event of a ban.
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week approved its own Russian uranium ban as part of legislation that would create a $3.5 billion fund for a U.S. domestic enriched-uranium supply.

Energy and Commerce also approved two measures attacking President Biden for an alleged “gas stove ban.”

• They are the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, which would ban the Energy Department from implementing a recent cooking appliance rule-making, and the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, which would ban the Consumer Protection Safety Commission for restricting gas stoves.
• CPSC and committee Democrats said no federal gas stove ban is on the horizon. But politics may make these bills tricky votes for some moderate Democrats.

What we’re watching: Senate Energy and Natural Resources chairman Joe Manchin, who has backed the Senate versions of the bills banning Russian uranium and restricting CPSC stove moves.