Rick Perry, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of energy, said during his confirmation hearing Thursday with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that he would work alongside Congress to address the cost of the U.S. nuclear modernization program.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) noted that the current plan to modernize each leg of the nuclear triad is expected to cost $1 trillion over 30 years, a plan that was “launched in a different budget era” at an investment level that could “hamper the ability of the United States to respond to conventional and unconventional threats that we may face.”
Franken asked Perry if he would consider altering the pace and scope of the existing nuclear modernization plan; Perry said those funding decisions “lie in your purview” and that he would follow the law and work alongside Congress to address the matter.
Perry was also asked by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to commit not to bring back nuclear explosive testing – something the United States suspended in the early 1990s in favor of a stockpile stewardship program to maintain a working nuclear deterrent. Perry said he believes the United States currently maintains a modern and safe nuclear arsenal without testing, adding that he would rely on the observations of DOE scientists “of whether there is clear technical ability to use the technology that we have today.”
“I think anyone would be of the opinion that if we don’t ever have to test another nuclear weapon, that would be a good thing,” Perry said.
Perry also reassured lawmakers that he is working to ensure continuity of operations at DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, where the top two officials reportedly had not been asked by the Trump team to stay on through the transition process.
Amid rumors last week that NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz and Principal Deputy Administrator Madelyn Creedon were being dismissed from their roles come Friday, an NNSA official clarified that there had been no discussions between the transition team and the agency’s political appointees on extending their service past Inauguration Day.
The Senate will vote on Perry’s nomination after Inauguration Day. He is expected to be confirmed.
