Senator John Hoeven, who serves on the Senate Energy Committee, announced that committee members have voted to recommend confirmation of former Texas Governor Rick Perry to lead the Department of Energy and Montana Representative Ryan Zinke to head the Department of the Interior. At the senator’s invitation, Perry committed to visit North Dakota and see the innovative research and development that’s ongoing in the state.
“We voted both Governor Perry and Congressman Zinke out of the Energy Committee today, and we hope to get them to the floor very soon,” Hoeven said. “That’s important because we’re talking about the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior, both very important for North Dakota in terms of energy, Native American issues and, of course, agriculture. As the former governor of an energy-rich state much like North Dakota, Rick Perry understands how important we are to the nation’s energy economy. Similarly, as a Montanan, Ryan Zinke understands the need to take a balanced approach to managing our national parks and public lands, ensuring multiple uses like grazing and energy development in addition to recreation. I look forward to working with both of them.”
At a hearing at which Perry testified, Hoeven underscored the importance of new technology in producing more energy with better environmental stewardship. The senator highlighted the work of the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota (UND) as well as two carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects underway in the state. Also, at a separate hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the senator urged Zinke to help advance a range of priorities for North Dakota and the nation.
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