Top Republican blasts rainwater collection ban that doesn’t exist

By Jonathan Miller | 05/21/2024 06:46 AM EDT

Rep. Jeff Duncan blamed “big government” for not letting Americans “catch rainwater off their own roof.” Was he listening to Ye?

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.).

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) chairs the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security. Francis Chung/POLITICO

Jeff Duncan was on a roll, condemning the federal government for telling Americans what cars they can and cannot drive and what appliances they can and cannot buy. His right hand slammed down on a table after he announced each outrage.

“It’s time to get big government off the throat of the American people,” Duncan, a South Carolina Republican, told the House Rules Committee earlier this month as he spoke in favor of the “Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act,” H.R. 6192. He later posted a supercut of his testimony to X, set to a plaintive synth soundtrack.

Even more outrageous, said Duncan, that same big government is telling people “they can’t catch rainwater off their own roof for use in their home.”

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That would be a stunning claim if true.

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