Former Vice President Joe Biden said he would not support a nationwide fracking ban on Wednesday -- in part because he doesn’t believe any measure banning fracking could pass -- but the Delaware Democrat said he does support stopping all “oil drilling or gas drilling on federal lands.”
Biden’s position is the most common Democratic position, but other candidates in the race -- like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker -- have pushed for a nationwide fracking ban.
Biden, in response to a question about fracking in Pennsylvania, said on Wednesday that the federal government has “less latitude in what we say we can and cannot do” on state lands.
“I think we should in fact be looking at what exists now and making a judgment whether or not the those in fact that are there, those wells that are there, whether or not they are dangerous, whether or not they have already done the damage,” Biden said.
Biden said the federal government “could pass national legislation” but that he doesn’t believe there are enough votes “to get it done.”