Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry faced questions today from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for his nomination to be Secretary of Energy in the Trump administration.
The following statements from energy policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“Having run the state of Texas for 14 years, Gov. Rick Perry certainly has more executive experience than the senators vetting his qualifications. And as Texas is the leading energy-producing state in the country, Perry also has more knowledge of what it takes to improve America’s energy security while keeping prices low.
“As governor, Perry showed he knows how to manage a budget and increase economic prosperity. Perry told companies Texas was open for business. Even during the depths of the recession, Texas was a bright spot among state economies. Leading Texas’s economic miracle was the energy sector. The fracking revolution virtually started, and boomed, in Texas. Perry recognized that if he just kept government out of the way – minimizing regulations and laws with the potential to hinder energy production – energy innovation and efficiencies would emerge, blessing the state with more energy and jobs.
“Perry, like President-elect Trump, recognizes the restrictions put in place by the Obama administration – limiting domestic coal, gas, and oil production on public lands and offshore – are bad for America’s energy security, American jobs, and the economy. With Perry at the helm of the Department of Energy, protecting the nation’s energy security – rather than fighting the hobgoblin of human-caused climate change – should once again become the prime goal of the department.”
H. Sterling Burnett
Research Fellow, Environment & Energy Policy
The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor, Environment & Climate News
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Hurrah for Rick Perry and a rational energy policy. It is remarkable that the American energy industry has accomplished all that it has over the past eight years, despite the roadblocks the Obama administration and environmental groups have thrown in front of it. Imagine how much more wealth and jobs will be created with an administration that is willing to apply sensible science and economics to the energy sector. The future is incredibly bright.”
Richard J. Trzupek
Policy Advisor, Environment
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“The confirmation of Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy would have important national and global implications for decades to come. Although many of the responsibilities of the Department of Energy are concerned with the nation’s nuclear arsenal, Perry’s role in permitting liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals will be his legacy.
“Right now, natural gas prices around the world vary considerably because natural gas is difficult to transport. Traditionally, nations built pipelines to transport this vital resource because other methods of transport have been too expensive. But hydraulic fracturing in the United States changed the equation.
“Now, countries that rely heavily on the sale of oil and natural gas, such as Russia, will have additional competition in the global marketplace. This could have serious geo-political consequences for many years to come. Thankfully, the United States will be insulated from these circumstances, and federal officials estimate the U.S. can be a net exporter of energy in the coming decades.”
Isaac Orr
Research Fellow, Energy and Environment Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is the Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy and the managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
Richard J. Trzupek is a chemist who has been employed as an environmental consultant to industry for more than 25 years.
