Perry vows to boost agency he had once sought to ax
TRUMP CABINET
WASHINGTON — Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, tapped by Presidentelect Donald Trump to head the Energy Department, vowed to be an advocate for an agency he once pledged to eliminate and promised to rely on federal scientists, including those who work on climate change.
Perry told a Senate committee on Thursday that he regrets his infamous statement about abolishing the department and insisted it performs critical functions, particularly in protecting and modernizing the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
“My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking,” Perry said. “In fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination.”
In 2011, at a Republican presidential primary debate, Perry became a punchline who famously forgot the department was one of the agencies he wanted to eliminate.
At his confirmation hearing, Perry also pledged to promote and develop American energy in all forms, advance the department’s science and technology mission and carefully dispose of nuclear waste. And he acknowledged that climate change is real.
“I believe some of it is naturally occurring, but some of it is also caused by man-made activity,” Perry told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “The question is how do we address it in a thoughtful way that doesn’t compromise economic growth, the affordability of energy or American jobs.”
Perry, who served 14 years at Texas governor, said he was for “all of the above” on energy production — oil and gas to renewable sources like wind and solar power — before President Barack Obama embraced the strategy.