During an interview with CNN on Thursday, 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris stated that she reversed the support for a fracking ban she had in 2019 back in 2020 and responded to a question on what prompted this change by citing her experience as Vice President.
CNN host and Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash asked, “When you were in Congress, you supported the Green New Deal, and in 2019, you said, quote, there is no question, I’m in favor of banning fracking. Fracking, as you know, is a pretty big issue, particularly in your must-win state of Pennsylvania. Do you still want to ban fracking?”
Harris answered, “No. And I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking, as Vice President, I did not ban fracking, as president, I will not ban fracking.”
Bash then asked, “In 2019, I believe, at a town hall, you said — you were asked, would you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking on your first day in office and you said, there’s no question, I’m in favor of banning fracking. So, yes. So, it changed in that campaign?”
Harris answered, “In 2020, I made very clear where I stand. We are in 2024 and I have not changed that position, nor will I going forward. I kept my word and I will keep my word.”
Bash then asked, “What made you change that position at the time?”
Harris responded, “Well, let’s be clear, my values have not changed. I believe it is very important that we take seriously what we must do to guard against what is a clear crisis in terms of the climate, and, to do that, we can do what we have accomplished thusfar, the Inflation Reduction Act, what we have done to invest — by my calculation, over probably a trillion dollars over the next ten years — investing in a clean energy economy, what we’ve already done creating over 300,000 new clean energy jobs, that tells me, from my experience as Vice President, we can do it without banning fracking. In fact, … I cast the tie-breaking vote that actually increased leases for fracking as Vice President. So, I’m very clear about where I stand.”
Bash followed up, “And was there some policy or scientific data that you saw that you said, oh, okay, I get it now?”
Harris responded, “What I have seen is that we can grow and we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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