Senator Lamar Alexander on Thursday released the following statement on his vote to confirm former Texas Governor Rick Perry to serve as U.S. Secretary of Energy:
“I’ve known Rick Perry for a long time and am pleased the Senate has voted to confirm him as Energy Secretary. He appreciates the role the Department of Energy plays in the management and modernization of our nuclear weapons—an important part of the work done at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
He also understands that national laboratories like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are essential to maintaining our country’s brainpower advantage. I have invited him to come to Tennessee early this year to see firsthand the important work done in Oak Ridge.”
On Jan. 5, Sen. Alexander met with Gov. Perry and, on Jan. 31, voted in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to advance Gov. Perry’s nomination so it could be considered by the full senate.
Sen. Alexander serves as the chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, which funds the Department of Energy, and is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.