Republican members on the House Small Business Committee are criticizing the Consumer Product Safety Commission for a proposed rule for residential furnaces and boilers that could hit small businesses’ bottom line to the tune of $13.8 million per company.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas., Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo. and Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., wrote the letter to Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric on Thursday, stating that the proposed rule would impact small businesses in a major way.
The proposed rule would require all residential “vented gas furnaces, boilers, wall furnaces, and floor furnaces” to have a way of monitoring the concentration of carbon monoxide produced during the combustion process. Additionally, it would require that boilers and furnaces to shut down or cause modulation when carbon monoxide reaches specified levels.
“These new standards would require the small businesses that manufacture residential furnaces and boilers to abandon or redesign many of their product lines—an endeavor which could cost each small business up to $13.8 million. It appears that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may not have properly considered small entities during this rulemaking process,” the letter states.
“It is important for agencies to examine small business interests—which make up 99.9 percent of all businesses in the United States—when passing any new rule. America’s small businesses deserve to have their voices heard and considered,” the letter adds.
It’s not the first time the House Small Business Committee has questioned regulations proposed by the Biden administration.
Earlier in November, Williams and five other committee Republicans sent a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, asking for information about the potential impacts of proposed regulations tightening energy efficiency standards of refrigeration equipment.