She was against it before she was for it. Or is it the other way around now?
Either way, it’s confusing.
With barely two weeks remaining until Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign once again is sowing confusion related to her energy policy.
In a recent interview with Politico, the Harris campaign’s new climate engagement director said the candidate “is not promoting expansion [of fossil fuel drilling]. She’s just said that they wouldn’t ban fracking.”
Hydraulic fracturing is essential to the completion process necessary in drilling to extract oil and gas resources from shale deposits. Pennsylvania is the United States’ second-largest producer of natural gas behind only Texas.
As the Delaware Valley Journal notes, the proxy’s comments appear to take Harris back to her original and long-held position of opposing expanded fossil fuel use. (Remember, she promised to ban fracking during her 2020 run for the White House but has reversed course as the Democratic nominee for president.)
These energy policy issues run deeper than a drill bit.
Maybe she does oppose fracking. Maybe she doesn’t. But with those comments about “not promoting expansion [of fossil fuel drilling],” what does that ultimately mean about support for domestic natural gas production and exporting that gas to our overseas allies?
In January, the Biden-Harris administration ordered a pause on the approvals of new U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects. Reaction was swift. Both of Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators – Robert P. Casey Jr. and John Fetterman – released a statement expressing concern about the action.
They weren’t alone.
A poll by Axis Research found 58 percent of Pennsylvania voters oppose the LNG export moratorium after learning more about it, with 41 percent less likely to vote for the president because of it. Notably, 57 percent of poll respondents were Democrat and Independent voters.
In October, a Morning Consult poll showed nearly 9 in 10 voters in Pennsylvania and six other key battleground states are looking for details from presidential candidates on energy issues. More than 4 in 5 voters agree producing more natural gas and oil in the U.S. could help lower energy costs for American consumers. When it comes to energy policy, we know what Pennsylvanians want. What we don’t know still is where Harris and her campaign stand on the issue.