U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris backs off fracing ban amid GOP criticism

(Bloomberg) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign said she doesn’t support a ban on fracing, reversing a stance she took on the hot-button oil and gas extraction technique as a presidential candidate in 2019.

Harris’ previous anti-fracing position has emerged as a talking point for Republicans as they focus on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Clips of her past remarks are appearing in campaign ads in the battleground state of Pennsylvania — a prolific natural gas producer.

Former President Donald Trump brought up the issue during a campaign rally in North Carolina this week, telling supporters Harris “publicly boasted, ‘There is no question I’m in favor of banning fracing.’ She wants no fracing and it pertains to your wallet because you’re going to be paying a lot of money.”

Harris campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt pushed back, saying the Biden-Harris administration had created 300,000 jobs in the energy sector and that Trump’s claims about fracing bans are “false.” She cited climate change legislation passed under President Joe Biden and said the U.S. domestic energy production is at an all-time high.  

Fracing, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping water, sand and chemicals underground to free oil and gas from dense rock formations, and is used to coax oil and gas out of roughly 95% of U.S. wells. It has drawn opposition from environmental groups concerned about ground-water contamination and opposed to fossil fuels.

Asked in 2019 during a CNN presidential candidate forum if she would commit to a ban on fracing during her first day in office, Harris said to applause: “There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracing.”

“And starting with day one what we can do on public lands,” Harris continued, “and then there has to be legislation.” 

While there are several ways Harris, if elected president, could halt fracing on federal lands using executive power, she wouldn’t be able to unilaterally ban it on private land. Under a 2005 law, the Environmental Protection Agency has almost no regulatory power over fracing. Changing that would require an act of Congress.