“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”
Those were the words of Kamala Harris when she ran for president in 2019, and there was every reason to believe her. Throughout her career, from California to Washington, she has been soundly progressive on energy issues, ardently supporting the Green New Deal, opposing drilling on federal lands and even working to prosecute oil companies for alleged so-called “climate crimes.”
But in recent weeks, anonymous campaign spokespeople have told media outlets that Harris “would not ban fracking.” Well, which is it? Only Vice President Harris can answer. And so far, she has not specified her energy policies.
It’s easy to see why she is in a difficult political position on the issue — attempting to simultaneously speak to the climate concerns of her progressive base while still appealing to midwestern swing-state voters, particularly in Pennsylvania, where energy is the cornerstone of the state economy, providing at least 123,000 jobs and $75 billion in economic activity. That’s why her energy pronouncements thus far have been vague lines about supporting the climate and bolstering jobs.
The media and the American people deserve specifics. Voters overwhelmingly rank the economy, inflation, and national security as their top issues — and energy underpins each of those. The price of energy is a primary driver of inflation. Domestic production has been a buffer against global instability in the Middle East, which in past years led to energy shortages and rationing at home.
Harris must first answer whether she has really changed her position on fracking, and if so, why. If she has indeed reversed her stand, she’d be on solid ground — fracking is a safe, mature and well-regulated method of extracting energy resources, and one that is critical to our economy and security. But this shift would be inconsistent with an entire career’s worth of positions Harris has taken, including her final act as California attorney general, which was to sue the Obama administration over its plan to allow fracking off the Pacific Coast.
Second, will she follow through on her past campaign promise to see “what we can do on day one” to limit energy production on federal lands? Would she continue the Biden administration’s approach of delaying and blocking leases? Would she continue the Biden administration’s approach of delaying and blocking leases? Or will she follow President Obama’s position of continuing to lease on federal lands to support U.S. energy independence?
Again, we can make a good guess based on her $10 trillion climate plan from her 2019 campaign and other aspects of her record. But we deserve a concrete answer.
Next, Harris needs to say whether she will continue the Biden administration’s pause on liquefied natural gas export approvals, or even halt them permanently, as many climate activists have demanded. If she takes this position, she would not only critically damage the U.S. natural gas industry in Pennsylvania and beyond, but also force our allies to rely on less-clean gas from adversaries such as Russia. This is a lose-lose-lose for our economy, global security, and our climate.
There are many other questions in addition to those three. For example, does Harris still support banning all new pipelines? Does she recognize the urgent need for an all-the-above energy strategy to meet rising global demand? Does she still support banning all gas-powered vehicles by 2040, as the Green New Deal proposed? Does she believe federal regulations should be transparent and workable for energy companies?
The short runway of this campaign is all the more reason the public needs unambiguous answers to these questions.
America is the world leader in oil and natural gas production, liquefied natural gas exports and emissions reductions. Americans benefit from the lower energy prices and greater global stability that result from these.
There is ample concern that a future President Harris would push for policies counter to America’s energy standing in the world. But we don’t know for sure, because she just hasn’t told us. That needs to change, and soon.
Anne Bradbury is CEO of the American Exploration & Production Council.