Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden and running-mate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) are on record opposing groundbreaking drilling techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing.
Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking,” has found widespread success, such as in Pennsylvania, where it transformed the state into a major energy producer.
The former vice president expressed his hostility toward fracking during a March debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Biden also told an Iowa voter he would “love to” ban fracking across America and make sure the country “can’t use any oil or gas, period.”
Harris has been even more explicit. During a CNN town hall in September 2019, she told audience members, “There is no question I am in favor of banning fracking.” Take that, Pennsylvania!
Myriad Benefits of Natural Gas
The natural gas revolution, made possible through fracking, has led to the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Keystone State residents, while also pumping tens of billions of dollars into Pennsylvania’s economy. A recent study estimates that “with the right policies in place, the state could add another 100,000 new jobs and $60 billion in gross domestic product growth over the next 10 years.”
So there’s the rub. Biden’s anti-energy policies would decimate Pennsylvania’s industrial sectors at a time when the state is uniquely positioned to help engineer a broader recovery throughout the nation from COVID-19. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that Pennsylvania is ranked second only to Texas in terms of oil and natural gas production.
Thanks in large part to hydraulic fracturing, which uses water pressure to open shale rock formations, enabling oil and natural gas to flow, the United States has become the largest oil and gas producer in the world. President Trump’s successful efforts to curtail and alleviate regulatory burdens contrasts sharply with Biden’s stated commitment to choke and suffocate oil and gas production.
Pandering for Votes
Since Pennsylvania could potentially decide the presidential election, it’s not surprising to find that Biden is now backtracking from anti-energy comments he made while seeking his party’s presidential nomination.
During a campaign stop in Pittsburgh on Monday, Biden said he would not ban fracking. Like many career politicians, the Delaware Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate for almost 40 years tells prospective voters what he thinks they want to hear, not what policies he intends to pursue. But this montage of clips, compliments of Americans for Tax Reform, shows Biden in his natural state, clearly explaining in multiple instances that he would shut down fracking, sacrifice economic growth, and eliminate blue-collar jobs to accommodate far-left green energy schemes.
Look no further than the “Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations” to discover what the real agenda is, contrary to what Biden said in Pittsburgh. The task force, which calls for net-zero carbon emissions from power plants by 2035 and a transition to wind and solar power, is essentially a reloaded version of the $93 trillion Green New Deal. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who co-authored the Green New Deal, is a co-chairwoman of the task force.
Fracking Vow ‘Rings Hollow’
Steve Milloy, a Fox News contributor and the founder of junkscience.com, released a statement in response to Biden’s flip-flop on fracking that should guide Pennsylvania residents with a stake in the energy industry.
“Joe Biden’s vow to not ban fracking rings hollow,” Milloy stated. “Not only has Biden said multiple times on the campaign trail that he would ban fracking, but Kamala Harris, his advisers including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, and the Democratic National Committee have all come out against fracking.
“Fracking has provided Americans with a higher standard of living, energy independence, and energy dominance,” Milloy stated.
Wider Implications of Biden Energy Policy
What happens to Pennsylvania under a Biden presidency would not stay in Pennsylvania. In fact, there are serious geopolitical ramifications that could flow out of a Biden ban on fracking, to China’s benefit.
The natural gas revolution has made it possible for the United States to achieve energy independence for the first time in decades, but Biden’s green energy schemes would force the United States into a position in which it must rely on China for solar and wind parts.
Instead of further developing the vast oil and gas deposits available within the Marcellus Shale, which cuts across a large portion of Pennsylvania, team Biden would proceed to “make China great” at the expense of energy consumers. Since 70 percent of the world’s solar panels are made in China and just one percent in the United States, the pitfalls of Biden’s anti-energy plans should be evident.
Tom Pyle, president of the free market-promoting Institute for Energy Research, has put it very well.
“Pennsylvania’s strength is America’s strength,” Pyle said. “As part of the wider shale revolution, the Marcellus basin has contributed to production gains that have made America the world leader in natural gas supply, a net oil and gas exporter, and a major player in liquefied natural gas trade.
“But instead of capitalizing on the world-class energy resources that Pennsylvania has been blessed with, Biden wants to coax our economy towards costlier, less reliable renewable energy whose market is largely controlled by China,” Pyle said.
Energy Independence Versus Energy Serfdom
By unleashing America’s energy potential, Trump has put the United States in a stronger position to recover from COVID-19 and to resist Chinese aggression overseas. As president, Biden would only do Beijing’s bidding.
Kevin Mooney (https://twitter.com/KevinMooneyDC) writes for the National Review, The Daily Signal, The Epoch Times, The Washington Examiner, Broad & Liberty, and the publications of the Capital Research Center.
[Originally posted on Washington Examiner]
