evidence: Biden has also walked a fine line on fracking, a process used to produce underground natural gas and oil that environmentalists broadly oppose. Liberal Democrats have pushed for an outright ban on fracking, while centrists have warned of potential job losses in states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. Biden says he would allow current fracking projects to move forward while banning future permits on federal land, telling WNEP in Scranton, Pa., last week that "fracking is not going to be on the chopping block." "He’s very, very practical. We have billion-dollar fracking plants in western Pa.," said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), one of Biden’s former presidential primary opponents. "He’s not going to step in the middle of that because certain people want a complete ban."