Harris won't support expanding fossil fuel drilling, campaign says
Harris has backtracked from support of a fracking ban
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris would not support an expansion of fossil fuel drilling despite her recent campaign boasts about domestic oil production under the Biden administration.
"Just to be clear, Vice President Harris hasn’t said anything that the administration hasn’t already said. She is not promoting expansion [of fossil fuel drilling]. She’s just said that they wouldn’t ban fracking," Camila Thorndike, Harris’ climate engagement director, said in an interview with Politico.
The comments come as Harris has continued to face questions about her stance on energy production, going from supporting a ban on fracking just five years ago to touting the "largest increase in domestic oil production in history" during her time as vice president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a statement to the press at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee on Oct. 17, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
"We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over rely on foreign oil," Harris said during a debate with former President Trump in Pennsylvania, a state where the issue of fracking could be a pivotal issue for voters.
"I am proud that as vice president over the last four years, we have invested a trillion dollars in a clean energy economy while we have also increased domestic gas production to historic levels," Harris said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz has struck a similar tone, arguing during a recent interview with WGAL 8 that the U.S. is "producing more natural gas and more oil than at any time in our history."
But some critics have slammed the campaign’s recent production talking point, arguing that the energy industry was able to achieve record numbers despite Biden administration policies, not because of them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns at UAW Local 652 in Lansing, Michigan, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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"In just four years, you and POTUS created the single worst regulatory and legislative environment in our industry's 160-year history. You've put into place 250 separate actions designed to put us out of business. You wanted to put our CEOs in jail, confiscate our capital and prevent our investors from getting any return," the U.S. Oil and Gas Association (OGA) said in a post on X last week. "And in spite of all that – we worked around you, over you and have beat your team. Now you want to take credit for what we did in spite of you. Not gonna let it happen."
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
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