Donald Trump’s choice for Energy secretary apologized for calling for the shuttering of the department he is now being asked to lead, saying he know understands the importance of its role.
Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday that it’s no longer his “current thinking” that the Energy Department should be eliminated. He famously advocated that during his 2011 failed presidential bid, but then couldn’t recall the name during a debate.
“After being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination,” Perry said in his confirmation hearing.
Perry, 66, says he will advocate and promote American energy in all forms, including renewable energy. While he was governor, Texas took the national lead in wind development, and now has more than 18,000 megawatts of wind capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association. That’s up from 210 megawatts when he took office in 2000.
But some Democrats say Perry’s muddled idea to shutter the department responsible for guaranteeing the security of the U.S. nuclear portfolio raise questions about his fitness for the job.
“In case you may have forgotten, you once called for the abolishment of this agency. I suspect that now having had a chance to learn about the importance of this department, you have a very different opinion,” Maria Cantwell, the panel’s top Democrat, said in her opening remarks. Cantwell said she was also concerned about Perry’s comments doubting the science of climate change.
But today, Perry vowed to support sound science, and long-term scientific research. That includes into climate change, he said.
“I believe the climate is changing,” he said. “I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is caused by man-made activity. The question is how do we address it in a thoughtful way that doesn’t compromise economic growth, effect affordability of energy, or American jobs.”
Perry, in a 2010 book, accused scientists of manipulating climate change data and called global warming “hysteria.” “The idea that we would put Americans’ economy in jeopardy based on scientific theory that’s not settled yet is nonsense,” he said in debate remarks while running for president in 2011.
“When it comes to climate change, I am committed to making decisions based on sound science and that also take into account the economic impact,” Perry said Thursday.
If confirmed, Perry will oversee a disparate agency with an annual budget of around $30 billion. It’s work ranges from nuclear weapons safeguarding to the research into carbon-capture technology to maintaining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
