Former Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Energy Department, was being pulled by Democrats and Republicans during his confirmation hearing Thursday to be an advocate for both fossil fuel development and maintaining the agency’s forward movement on climate science and renewable energy.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said if Perry is confirmed, he must “step up to become an advocate for energy supply,” which includes helping her state, a top oil producer, to move forward on developing new sources of fossil fuels.
“It seems that in these past years we’ve seen other agencies that have been successful in taking resources off the table regardless of the long-term consequences to the American people,” Murkowski said. She also wants Perry to improve the agency’s research and development.
“If you are confirmed, I am hopeful you will take a broad view basic scientific research,” she said, without talking about climate change being a priority. She wants the agency to ensure access to energy for it to be more affordable and reliable, while also being clean and not harmful to the environment.
“Done right and in a disciplined manner, a good set of innovation policies will provide us with more energy, reduce the amount of energy we use and lower the cost we pay for energy,” Murkowski said.
Simply put, “energy is good,” she said. Her Democratic counterpart on the committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., wants Perry to become a climate change advocate, noting that she is highly skeptical of him based on comments he made when running for president about abolishing the Energy Department.
“You once called for the abolishment of this agency,” Cantwell said. “Now that you’ve had time to learn about the agency, I hope you have a different opinion.”
“The department plays a central role in protecting our nation security, our economic security our energy security and our environmental security,” she said.
“I am deeply concerned about the things you have said in the past about climate science,” Cantwell added. “I believe it is the consensus of the scientific community that climate change is real and that it is happening now and is due to human activity.”
“So, I hope you can understand that there is widespread anxiety about President-elect Trump’s intention to dismantle scientific capabilities or simply just starve these resources,” she said. “We hope you, Governor Perry, will be someone that understands and believes in the science mission of this agency and will lead it to the best of your abilities.”
