“I’m not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else. I’m going to protect Pennsylvanian jobs, period,” the former vice president said.
The remarks come as Biden has had to clarify his position on getting rid of the oil industry after Thursday night’s debate, and as President Trump continues to use this as a line of attack against his opponent.
Biden claimed that he “never said I oppose fracking” when pressed by President Donald Trump on the issue during Thursday night’s presidential debate.
“You said it on tape,” Trump replied.
In 2019, Biden said “we would make sure it’s eliminated” when asked about the future of coal and fracking; in 2020 he said he opposed “new fracking.”
Biden’s written plan, conversely, never included a full ban on fracking or even on new fracking. Rather, it proposes “banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters” — not ending all new fracking anywhere or ending all existing fracking on public lands and waters.
