“You voted against fracking in the past on federal lands,” said MacCallum. “You said you wanted it banned. So now the president is saying that he wants to tax energy companies, a windfall tax because of the profits that they make. … Why not make that investment in making us energy independent because right now we are far from it?”
“I’m 1,000 percent for that, 1,000 percent!” Ryan said. “I’m just saying we don’t want to do fracking on federal lands. I’d like to do it wherever else we can.”
On the presidential campaign trail, however, Ryan propped up plans to regulate fracking out of business, the consequences of which can’t be overstated. In 2014, as many as 95 percent of new wells were being drilled with fracking technology, according to the Energy Department. Hydraulic fracturing still accounts for most new oil and gas wells today.
In a 2019 interview with The Washington Post, Ryan left open the door to ban fracking if lawmakers refuse to ramp up regulation, and he didn’t make any distinction between federal and private lands.
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