[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6112-S6113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Presidential Election

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in the weeks since Washington Democrats 
made Vice President Harris their nominee, the American people have had 
their hands full in trying to figure out where her campaign stands on 
the issues on the top of their minds.
  They have got serious questions about her role in everything from the 
runaway spending that gave them the worst inflation in 40 years to the 
open borders policies that have invited the worst humanitarian and 
security crisis the southern border has ever seen. Thus far, they 
haven't received many answers.
  The problem is that the Vice President doesn't have a record. She has

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campaigned for President once before and worked hand in hand with 
President Biden for 4 years since. Instead, the problem is that, on 
issue after issue, Vice President Harris has, at one time or another, 
played both sides. Well, working families want to know, this time, what 
side she is on.
  Take energy policy. Back in 2019, then-Senator Harris went on record, 
saying:

       There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking.

  Fast-forward, after 4 years of undermining exploration of abundant 
American energy, the Harris campaign says her policies as President 
would be different.
  During her time in the Senate, our former colleague cosponsored the 
Zero-Emission Vehicles Act, a bill that would require car manufacturers 
to sell only zero-emission vehicles after 2040. These days, her 
campaign avoids getting pinned down about whether she would seek an 
electric vehicle mandate.
  Then-Senator Harris also went on the record in support of the Green 
New Deal, including its make-work programs and job guarantees. These 
days, as the Biden-Harris war on American energy rages on, the Harris 
campaign conveniently reveals that she no longer supports this 
resolution, and, apparently, there is no policy too small for the 
campaign to walk back, not even the Vice President's stated support 
for--get this--a Federal ban on plastic straws. According to the 
campaign, that has been reversed as well.
  Well, micromanaging fountain drinks is one thing, but as millions of 
Americans contend with the business end of the Biden-Harris climate and 
economic agenda, they ought to know precisely where the Democratic 
Party's nominee stands. Policies matter. They can quite literally be 
the difference between affording gas and groceries and going without. 
Voters are fed up with flip-flops, and the Vice President ought to come 
clean.