Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As New York State is moving toward a ban on natural gas hookups in new home construction starting in January, Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23) is continuing to stump for passage of his "Energy Choice Act", which would prevent state and local governments from banning natural gas as an energy resource for new homes.
How much attention is the bill getting in Washington, D.C.?
"It's not high on people's radar," said Dave Levinthal, Washington Insider and WBEN contributor. "There is a whole variety of things that Langworthy is competing with."
Langworthy introduced the bill back in June.
"This ban was tucked into the budget in the dead of night three years ago, and very few people know about it. The Buffalo Home Builders Association tells me 5% of the public knows this is happening," said Langworthy in an interview with Lucas Buckley on WBEN's "Hardline" on Sunday.
Langworthy believes the push toward electrification is a life or death situation, especially after living through the Christmas blizzard of 2022.
"People died in their homes if they had all electric heat. Some of the victims froze to death inside their homes because the power was out for an extended period of time," Langworthy noted.
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Levinthal says members of Congress introduce hundreds, if not thousands of bills, but most of them die in committee.
"This is not to say this is dead on arrival, but it is something that is going to be competing with a lot of things," he noted.
Acknowledging he is up against a tight deadline, Langworthy is trying to find a federal solution to stop this in its tracks.
"We have a companion bill in the Senate, and we're working against the clock," Langworthy noted. "I'm going to be contacting every member of Congress that I can talk to, to get them to co-sponsor this bill. We need to get this over the finish line.
"I think we can get it done."