10 Questions for Vice President Kamala Harris Ahead of Her Town Hall in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON DC (10/23/24) – Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will be participating in a Town Hall Forum this evening hosted by CNN in Pennsylvania, the second largest natural gas producer in the country. In advance of this event, the American Energy Alliance has prepared ten questions for Anderson Cooper to ask Vice President Harris:

1. Your environmental allies have proudly boasted about your history of “standing up to Big Oil.” The oil and gas industry supports more than 423,000 direct and indirect jobs in Pennsylvania and contributes more than $75 billion to the state’s economy. You have a long track record of trying to punish domestic energy production, including over 250 actions the Biden-Harris administration has made it harder to produce oil and gas domestically. Why have you and your administration worked so hard to impede the production of oil and natural gas in the United States?
2. Pennsylvania is the second largest natural gas producer in the country, producing almost 22% of total US production. Over half of households rely on natural gas, the most cost-effective option, to heat their homes. Fracking, which in 2020 you said you are in favor of banning, provides cheap and abundant energy for American consumers. If you no longer oppose fracking, what would you specifically do to encourage more of it? Can you name five things you have done either as Vice President or as U.S. Senator to increase domestic oil and gas production?
3. At a recent campaign event in Michigan, you stated “Contrary to what my opponent is suggesting, I will never tell you what kind of car you have to drive.” This is despite your long-standing support for policies that would ban gas-powered cars and trucks and mandate electric vehicles in their place. More than half of Pennsylvanians oppose electric vehicle mandates, which you have long supported, and your administration has tried to implement. If you truly have reversed your support for mandating electric vehicles, why haven’t you, as President of the Senate, encouraged Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring legislation to the floor to prevent EV mandates? As the sitting Vice President, why haven’t you taken any action to stop your own EV rules from moving forward?
4. The Biden-Harris administration halted all new LNG export permits, a move that even Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey, as well as Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro have spoken out against. Analysts at Poten & Partners indicate that this ongoing uncertainty is leading to increased costs and project delays. Lengthened timelines, rising engineering costs, procurement, and construction expenses, along with methane emissions fees, are impacting projects awaiting approval or final investment decisions. The broader U.S. LNG industry is also feeling the effects, with many projects needing to reapply or seek extensions. LNG facilities are highly labor- and capital-intensive, showcasing some of the most advanced engineering today. For instance, the Golden Pass facilities are expected to generate $34 billion in private sector investments, contribute $5 billion in taxes, and create 5,200 jobs over their operational lifespan. This pause jeopardizes these potential benefits. Why does your administration prefer that Middle Eastern dictatorships sell LNG instead of U.S. companies?  
5. You have proudly stated you cast the tie-breaking vote to increase leases for fracking, but that is fully taken out of context. You cast your vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which doubles rental fees on onshore leases, imposes a new fee to simply nominate acreage to be leased, and increases onshore royalty rates to 16 2/3% from 12.5% under the previous administration. It also imposes a new natural gas tax on U.S. oil and natural gas companies. Consequently, under your administration, the number of new leases has fallen by 88% since FY2019 and is 84% lower even than the average new leases issued during the Obama administration. How can you tout oil production when your administration hasn’t even kept pace with the leasing that took place during the Obama administration?
6. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Canada supplies most of the oil used in the upper Midwest and Canada makes up 60% of our total oil imports. Why did the Biden-Harris administration, on day one, stop the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada, killing thousands of good-paying union jobs for American workers?
7. The EIA said last week that energy prices this winter will be 11% higher than last year in the Midwest, which is more than your worst year of inflation under Bidenomics. How can you reassure Americans worried about their utility bills that you won’t be cutting off their energy supplies given your statements in the past on banning fracking?
8.  You have touted a “just transition” to renewable energy, but on your watch, electricity rates are up 27%. During this same period, input prices for coal, oil, and natural gas have remained relatively low, leading critics to suggest that your policies pushing an “energy transition” are what is fueling the rise in electricity prices. Is driving people into energy poverty a feature of your energy plan? Are you willing to commit to embracing affordability and reliability as the cornerstones of a sensible approach to energy policy?
9.  Your policies focus on the electrification of everything, but electrification relies on minerals that come from China, not the United States. At the same time, a key talking point your administration uses to promote the “energy transition” is the idea that it will all be done in America. However, your administration has stopped mining projects in the United States. How do you square the stated goals of a “built-in-America” energy transition with the build-nothing policies your administration has actually pursued?
10. Your administration had no problem selling millions of dollars from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the run-up to the midterm elections of 2022 in an attempt to reduce the price at the pump. Why doesn’t your administration also support increasing domestic oil production as a way to reduce gasoline prices for American motorists more effectively and sustainably? 

AEA Experts Available For Interview On This Topic:

• Tom J. Pyle, President

Additional Background Resources From AEA:

• 250 Ways Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Democrats Have Made it Harder to Produce Oil & Natural Gas
• AEA Candidate Profile – Kamala Harris

For media inquiries please contact: 

[email protected]