[inaudible conversations] good morning. The committee will come to order. Id like to welcome you all to our second bubble confirmation hearing of this anon girls feet. I would like to start by thanking senator korn and for being here to speak on behalf of our nominee is. Always good to have you. Our fellow committee member, senator mention from West Virginia is prepared to also offer introductory remarks for a nominee. Governor perry, i would like to extend a warm welcome to you and to your family. Know that i appreciate your desire to serve, your willingness to become our next secretary of energy. Ive enjoyed the meeting that we had together, learning more about your leadership as governor of the state of texas, including your accomplishments in the area of energy and environment. Im going to withhold this morning and a reference to text size versus alaska size. Weve had that discussion. But in all seriousness, we know that you are seeking to leave the department of energy at an interesting time in critical time. D. O. E. Has helped make our nation a Global Leader in research and development is supporting basic research, by encouraging scientific exploration of fostering innovation. At the heart of these efforts are Scientific Research funded by the department and the 17 National Laboratories that employ the departments greatest asset in the asset of course is the scientist who dedicate not just their careers, but in so many cases they dedicate their lives to solving some of the toughest challenges that face our nation and really face the world. Im hopeful if you are come armed, and you will take a broad view of the importance of basic Scientific Research and continue to pursue the significant benefits that will result from it. Done right and in a disciplined manner, it does, it goes that an innovation policies will provide us with more energy, reduce the amount of energy and lower the cost that we pay for energy. In my view, those are the Guiding Principles for the department, so i would encourage you as you know if i were to work with the rest of the administration to increase access to energy, to make energy more affordable and continue to improve its environmental goals. Folks here at the committee now i have a set of principles that are pretty easy, affordable, accessible, clean, diverse and secure. Theres no acrid and bitter its in alphabetical order so that we remember it all. I sum it all up in one Bumper Sticker that says energy is good because i believe that and i hope you believe that as well. So if these are your goals, if we share the same outcome here, i think that we can greatly contribute to the prosperity of our standard of living and the health of our planet. I would encourage you to ensure the department of energy steps the department of energy sapsucker becomes an advocate or Energy Supply within the cows government. It seems than this past years weve seen other agencies that have been successful in taking resources off the table regardless of the longterm consequences for the American People. One of the Biggest Challenges is the management of a large and very complex organization with thousands of employees and tens of thousands of contractors. I do not subscribe to the view that only a scientist can manage other scientists. Instead im a what we need is a good manager. We need a manager to manage all the scientist, one who acknowledges, maybe i dont know everything in that space, but being capable of organizing, setting direction, imposing accountability, making the greatest possible use of taxpayer dollars and reaching goals. Governor perry, as the longestserving governor of texas, you have considerable experience bidding of big and very sophisticated enterprise. I believe that will serve you well as secretary and look forward to hearing how you would carry that experience over to the department. If you are confirmed, you will also find yourself in a position to make the department run more effectively. Secretary monet as i think has made some very Good Progress in breaking down some of the silos that have historically frustrated the department, but i think we all recognize there is more that can be done. Offices within the Department Must do a better job working together to utilize limited resources and reduce unnecessary duplication. I know in our conversation he made a commitment to travel to my stay. Im sure as you have visited with other members, you have made similar commitments to them. But i do appreciate your willingness to come to alaska to see my home state firsthand. The department of interior is usually the one that makes the headlines in alaska, the department of energy is also very and perhaps three key ways that i can point out to you this morning. First is that the department can do to help reduce extremely high energy costs in the state of alaska. Our energy costs are the greatest challenge facing our rural areas. Many of our communities are still reliant on diesel as their primary energy source. Many of the small interior communities inaccessible by road, they may be experiencing fuel prices in the range of 9 to 10 a gallon for their fuel is not sustainable is simply does not work. Its a huge burden and would ultimately cannot bid because you have families that just say we cant live here. We cant stay in the village, in a region that we have been in for a thousand years. Because the energy costs are driving them away. So they leave their villages and go to town, anchorage, fairbanks, but it really is not the right choice. I think our challenge should be to help them find this Energy Solutions. This is where we in alaska can offer a great deal of opportunity because we have been innovative, innovative because the necessity and we have a lot to share with the rest of the country in terms of demonstrating how we can find Energy Solution vary locally. We have more micro grids and more to talk about in the micro in the microgrid space than anywhere else in the country. And so, i ask you to use us. Use that expertise. I think the department of energy has some great opportunity to partner with communities and organizations not only in alaska at around the country to develop Real Solutions particularly with Renewable Energy that can help reduce their energy costs. Ive told you that i think alaska can be that proving ground and we look at it and say if youve got new technologies that make sense somewhere else, we can pretty much guarantee that theyll make sense in alaska and we are the beneficiary because we see the reduce costs. I want to see the department make a much greater effort to capitalize on not Going Forward. The second at the department can work with alaska is to help us bring our stranded natural gas to market. After the department granted a conditional export license to the alaska gas line project, but we have to continue receiving good strong support in timely approval from the federal government if the project is going to succeed. Finally, the department of energy the department of energy cannot alaska commercialize more of its vast research space. The office of fossil energy has focused almost exclusively on environmental aspects of deals in recent years, but its mission is supposed to be considerably broader than that. A renewed focus on Precompetitive Research on methane hydrate and other resources could lead to new breakthroughs and boost our Nations Energy security and long into the future. I do think it is important to recognize this committee, which has a reputation of working collaboratively in a good bipartisan way. Senator cantwell and i have along with our colleagues been able to move the ball forward on some very Important Energy issues. And weve been able to do that in part with the department of energy because weve got a good relationship, positive relationship with the current secretary of energy, earning money is. I think hes done well as secretary and while i didnt always agree with him, it was a working relationship that was solid. And there was good respect and i hope that in that respect, you will follow his lead working with us, and making yourself available to us about whether to testify here, to just keep in contact, stay in touch, generally be responsive to our members here. If you can do that, youll be on the right track and will Work Together as we seek to maintain americas leadership. I thank you for being here this morning and your willingness to serve. I now turn to Ranking Member cantwell. Thank you on a chair. Welcome, governor perry. Welcome to your family. Congratulations on your nomination. 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. The department asked the chair just pointed out plays an essential role in protecting our National Security, economic security, Energy Security and Environmental Security and its wideranging Mission Impacts almost every aspect of our lives. The department of energy is a science and Technology Powerhouse and it is unrivaled as a network of National Laboratories accelerating innovation in helping us with our Manufacturing Base to stay competitive. The department of energy has helped make the United States a world leader in addition and clean energy and Energy Efficiency technology and there are now more people working installing solar panels in the country then working at oil and gas extraction. The department of energy has built and maintained our Nuclear Deterrent led to guide our ongoing nonproliferation affairs, managed the Nuclear Weapons complex such as pampered and help us win world war ii and the cold war. It is very important that we talk to dad about her steadfast determination and i will again into that more. And also our threats continue to involve the department of evolve. As a punter on the overview Obama Administration for cybersecurity and emergency responses are critical. Just as the Dance Research agency called dust in the development and will help us in the wired economy of the future and making sure this will protect it. It will be the job of the next Energy Secretary to be a good overseer of the enterprises to maintain the achievements of the past 40 years have not the u. S. Emits in recent competitive Global Market place on 10 you can protect the grade from these growing threats of cybersecurity. Leading our National Labs is going to be a critical aspect of this leadership and leading is paramount. It is our job today to consider how well you will do that job. Like many of my colleagues, i am deeply concerned for things youve said in the past about Climate Science to move again into that in more detail. I believe it is the consensus of the Scientific Community that Climate Change is real, that its happening now and it is due to human activity. Yesterday nasa Just Announced 2015 was the warmest year on record. And the art that, where warming is happening faster than any place on earth, the melting of sea ice is now at an alltime high. How do we know all of this . We know because the department of energy does the research. So we want to make sure that Climate Science in the arctic is not just something the department of energy and its National Laboratories and University Partners are doing, but that people understand its not just an academic pursuit, but we made the information for a very important decisions. The nature and the pace of these changes have serious impacts for the department of defense and investment and the kind of infrastructure we need to stand up in the arctic. We are, i know my chair would agree with this. We are an arctic nation. And that means that this part of the world is going to be coveted by many nations. Its shipping lanes, trade routes, defense issues are going to be central. So senator murkowski could also tell you, the implication for arctic communities and their way of life is also impact did. In my state along, our fisheries industry and the shellfish industry were almost devastated by ocean acidification. So the department of Energy Scientific horsepower is key to wonders and in these trends. So i hope that you can understand there is widespread anxiety about president elect trumps intention to dismantle Scientific Capabilities are simply just starve these resources. We hope that you, governor perry, will be someone who understands and believes in the Science Mission of this agent dave and will leave it to the best of your ability. Mission innovation, which is the priority of this agency and continuing to move forward on Renewable Energy is also critically important. Almost 2 million americans work in Energy Efficiency alone, driving doubledigit savings to consumers by these advancements. Our quadrennial review of estimate that we need 1. 5 million new energy jobs by 2030, which will be grid modernization and clean energy related. What we have seen through the innovation that has happened through lawrence berkeley, and university is that the cost of utility solar has dropped 64 since 2008 which is caused solar energy last year to lead all forms of energy in new capacity installation and give back billions to consumers in savings. More than 115,000 electric vehicles doubling the amount of 2012. The d. O. E. Is help bring down the cost at eb through Better Research on Battery Technology is. It relies on the important investment by the department of energy and the lab that supports them. The Trump Administration will cling to the fossil fuel industry of the past and continue to lead on the innovations that are going to be delete technologies in the clear leadership position. Along with that is that in Nuclear Waste cleanup between 10 and 15 of the agencys budget. Nonproliferation. As i mentioned earlier, the quadrennial review could not be more clear on the urgency of cybersecurity. In light of recent revelations about russian hacking the secretary of energy needs to take it very seriously the threats to this nation and our electricity grid. We are becoming more and more a wider economy. My constituents spend nine days on new technologies within Energy Secretary who are going to take the threats of rushing hacking seriously and defend us against them. I hope we can go into more detail and questions about this. But i want to make sure you understand that the past Energy Secretary is leaving you with a roadmap for cybersecurity. I hope youll take it and provide the leadership that our nation needs to stop our vulnerabilities against something so important as protecting the innovation economy of the future by foreign entities. With that on behalf of the 15,000 washington workers that work at pni labs, i hope youll take what weve said here today about science, innovation and investment very seriously. I look forward and congratulations on being nominated on this important agency. The alaska senator korn and to provide his introduction of the nominee and when senator cornyn has completed his comments has completed its comments, well turn to you, senator manchin and proceed to hear from governor perry. Welcome, senator cornyn. Signature and murkowski, Ranking Member cannot well, colleagues, thank you for holding to the secretary of the department of Energy Department of energy and made the opportunity of introducing him. I want to just also introduce his wife, and nita, who is here today. He has his extended family, including some of his adopted family here with him today and ill let him introduce the rest of them. I got to know sandy and i pay my wife and i got to know rick and anita when we ran for statewide office in 1990. Its been a few years now. Rick had heard he served in the air force. They served in the state legislature before being elected as agricultural commissioner of texas. I got elected to the Texas Supreme Court that same year. Later in december of 2000, rick assumed the office of governor of the state of texas becoming as chairman murkowski noted along with serving governor of state. Serving in Public Office alongside someone that line gives you a chance to assess their character and abilities. Im here to say that i know governor perry to be a tremendous leader of the highest caliber in a dedicated Public Servant who is committed to working on behalf of the people of texas and now on behalf of the