Val Demings Distances Herself From Anti-Drilling Policies She Once ChampionedAfter Florida gas prices topped record highs, Sunshine State congresswoman Val Demings distanced herself from liberal environmental policies she supported just a year and a half ago that would curtail oil drilling in the United States.
Asked Sunday about her support for the Green New Deal and whether the Biden administration's "clean energy" policies are "to blame for these soaring gas prices," Demings said she does "not support the Green New Deal" and accused her opponent, Republican senator Marco Rubio, of "playing politics." In September 2020, however, Demings cosponsored the THRIVE Agenda, a $10 trillion liberal environmental bill pushed by the Green New Deal Network. The legislation calls for a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and ensures federal funds allocated through the bill "do not expand fossil fuel infrastructure."
Demings's attempt to distance herself from Democrats' anti-oil policies comes as Florida experiences sky-high prices at the pump. In early March, gas prices in the state surged to an average of $4.38 a gallon, the highest level in Florida history. But Demings has refused to blame the trend on her party's energy agenda—on Sunday, she instead said gas prices have increased due to oil companies "who take advantage of crisis situations like the one we are in to drive up costs as opposed to reducing it."
Demings also refused during her Sunday interview to call for increased oil production in the United States, a position Rubio regularly promotes. Under former president Donald Trump, the United States became a net annual petroleum exporter for the first time in more than 70 years. That status has shifted under President Joe Biden, with the United States set to again become a net oil importer in 2022. The reversal comes after Demings's House Democratic colleagues pressured oil executives to decrease production due to climate change.
Demings promoted her support for the THRIVE Agenda in a September 2020 press release, which says the bill will "transform our country and future" through "a new, clean economy." The release includes a quote from Sen. Ed Markey (D., Mass.), who co-authored the Green New Deal with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.). The release also touts the Green New Deal Network's backing of the bill and quotes Sunrise Movement cofounder Varshini Prakash, who said the THRIVE Agenda "delivers a clear mandate for the next administration and Congress to get started on a Green New Deal."..............
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/val-demings-distances-herself-from-anti-drilling-policies-she-once-championed/
