always. >> i think it is more celebrating the pace of change to keep up with a pace of cultural awareness that i don't know it is fully aware exists. >> gentlemen, thank you. >> everybody -- item going to get in big trouble. i have been trying to get on the side of the couch entire conference. mr. secretary, thank you for joining us. this is the anchor session. we have other things going on. off, i went through probably nine months of the president's tweets last night. he does not tweet very much

about you. are you disappointed? sec. perry: that is a good thing. keeping a low profile is -- >> you didn't even make "fear." sec. perry: that is a good thing. i have been through the gambit of exposure. sharing with you, the greatest job i had in my life was the governor of texas. i retired from that and made the decision i was done with public service and totally failed retirement. this is an opportunity to come back, serve the country -- comparedhis job suck to being the governor of texas? sec. perry: this is the coolest job i have ever had. for your audience and folks watching online and other

places, you have in your mind's eye what the department is all about. it has the fossil fuels, renewables, different types of energy -- >> but it is so much beyond energy. sec. perry: yes. when you think about the geopolitics of the world that occurred in the past decade from the prospect of the united states. we are the number one oil and gas producing country in the world. our friends in the european union, whether it is china and are going to be the markets of the future for our lng. completely changed the world geopolitically from that standpoint. the department of energy, we had a role in that whether it was the direction of drilling, technology, some of that came from the department of energy labs. this agency and its 17 national

labs -- that is what makes it so cool. when you were backstage talking fascinating places involved in so many different areas. >> which of the 17 are your favorite? sec. perry: that is like picking which one of my kids is the favorite. oak ridge is the home of the fastest supercomputer in the world. fastest, six of the theastest supercomputers in world for long to the department of energy. ridge,computer is at oak tennessee. that i which it just is one of the most fascinating things about that. they have a manufactured materials lab. it is stunning. the rover curiosity is traveling around mars, on the surface on mars with an engine developed

partly by the department of energy scientists. >> why do you call your self the department of energy? it is so bland? >> in texas we have a railroad commission. does it have anything to do with railroad? it has all the oil and gas. least we of energy, at got closer than the railroad commission. .o offense this is an extraordinary time in is ana will stop it extraordinary time in global history from an energy standpoint with what is going on. we have seen the united states driving the lowering of emissions. are you allowed to do that? sec. perry: i tell people, the 7ate of texas, we added

million people to the population to texas. that means a lot of pickup trucks. think about it. nonpoint source pollution had to be going through the roof. we have all of the refining capacity on the gulf coast. call donald trump and say we have emissions of? sec. perry: we didn't. reduction,%, 60% total carbon dioxide footprint down. the reason is number one we led the nation in the production of wind energy. we produce more wind in texas then all five countries. we have other things that gave incentives to change from old, inefficient engines. we had a massive switchover from

old power plants to natural gas plants. that drove emissions down. this can happen in the world. it is happening in the united states. we had a 14% reduction in the united states since 2007. >> why not just merge the epa in with you? sec. perry: why don't you mind your own business? [laughter] the point is there are great stories about what the department of energy is involved with that are outside the historic concept of fossil fuels or renewables or nuclear power. to make nuclear power cool again. when i was a kid starting school at texas a&m in the late 1960's, all the smart kids were going into nuclear or aeronautic engineering. nuclear was cool.

the ability to create power with nuclear materials. we think it is possible again to .o small modular reactors they are fascinating in their ability to not have the waste problem we see with the big plants. you can basically bolt them on to each other, how much do you need? we can do that. .usion energy some of the things we are doing in our national labs working on fusion energy. 'hat is my grandchildrens future. we will have a prototype ready by 2026-2027. >> when i had secretary moneys here talking about things, the investments in science and the

ecosystem, getting these various pieces related to climate, supercomputing, what it can do greatlth, there is a number of things under your purview. i asked seriously, are you getting the support from congress? i raise this in the sense there seems to be a wobbliness in the appreciation for science. i wonder how you will ain't tame the direction you are going in a world where folks in congress doubt climate science, doubt climate change? here is what i found. by and large, for example, alexander is a great supporter of what we are doing at doe, of science. , iyou look at the budgets try not to get too distracted by the noise and look at the

results. the results have been congress has funded this agency in a thoughtful way that has promoted science and technology, the concepts that are important to the future. wantentioned something i to share. one thing that i hope you leave is a newy with understanding and respect for what the department of energy is involved with. a decade ago i became intriguedw the previous speaker was talking about the nfl and the issues facing the national football league, the brain injuries, and i got involved in it through a different source. that was veterans. a young man lived with us who had some really devastating post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries and other issues. and i discovered the federal government was really feeling these people. and -- failing these people.

and so i found nontraditional ways to help him. unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of them. theing here we passed washington monument and to the east, before the mall, there are 5000 plus small american flags to on that little -- commemorate the 5000 plus veterans who data by suicide over the course of the war on terror. so this is a really personal issue with me. up as thehowed secretary of energy and i looked around and became as intrigued -- i found, the

because of our supercomputing capacity, our ability to do with artificial intelligence and big data that we have the ability to work with the university of california san francisco and their neurosciences department to come up with some very nontraditional ways of dealing with two magic brain injury and posttraumatic stress, making massive improvements. dr. manley said we have made more progress on this issue in six months than in 10 years. that is what i think americans want to see their tax dollars doing, is really making a difference in people's lives. this is called artificial intelligence big data that we created at the department of energy. we went to congress, they have blessed it, it is going forward, and we are going to be able to affect some young people's

lives, give them their lives back. i am totally convinced we have the ability to save lives, to change lives, because of the department of energy. and that is so different from what most people would think about when they think about doe -- what is that. ? steven: you have to change your name. [laughter] sec. perry: as long as -- steven: i suggested changing the name and the secretary said, please do not, please do not bring that up. another thing is, for the folks in the audience, they may not know this, it is cyber security awareness month and energy awareness month. you play a big role in protecting national energy, national energy strategy, electricity security. how much do you worry about the russians and chinese? sec. perry: the sector specific agency for our grid

resiliency, so that no matter what the power is there, the lights come on, is at the department of energy. we have other agencies we work with. steven: there is a little label of doe inside? sec. perry: we hope that is all that is inside. [laughter] steven: you know a lot more about what is going on, are you worried about malware? and of the system by foreign actors? sec. perry: a healthy concern is always good in this business. bright some incredibly men and women working in our labs. that are hand and glove with the private sector. it is one of those where the private sector is very important to our ability to be successful, to defend against the nefarious activities of nationstates, terrorist groups.

some kid sitting in a basement somewhere trying to hack into a system, maybe not necessarily with bad things in mind, but it could cause bad things. one of my concerns is to make sure that the grid is resilient and reliable. so, and i worry about not just the chinese or russians or iranians hacking in -- you know they are doing it, we know that they are actively involved and becoming more sophisticated. it is why our effort to maintain the lead on supercomputing is so important. congress understands it, the reason they are fighting at the levels they are. our ability to stay in the lead is imperative, because whoever gets to quantum computing first wins. steven: how far are we away from winning? sec. perry: we have the fastest,

most powerful supercomputer in the world at the moment. i can promise you the chinese are working diligently to reclaim that place, because they did have it prior to eight months ago. concern, as itf should be. it is tantamount to national security of this country. so we know what is at stake here. of i am also very confident the capabilities in our national labs, in our private sector, to maintain the safety and security of the american people. parts: one of the other of the department of energy that i enjoyed working with was the advanced research project agency and working on a battery storage and innovations that are really climate directed, but you fish in season and what not. i am wondering if you met those

entrepreneurs and worked in that environment. sec. perry: i tried to give people background. when i was the governor of texas, we created the program called the emerging technology fund. dollars with a scientific oversight group that tested all the people who came forward and apply for grants. and it was incredibly successful. i mean come incredibly successful. so when i got here i was already wired to support that type of concept. steven: scientific oversight groups? that is good. sec. perry: yeah. [laughter] ieven: you do not want -- like scientific oversight groups, it is a rare thing to talk about. sec. perry: long story short, it has its role. and i am a proponent of it.

congress is very supportive of it. so it is continuing to be funded. it is continuing to go forward and look at the innovative projects that are out there. and they come through, they get the proper oversight. and here is where i tell people -- there is not a bank in america. i have friends who say, you are not supposed to be involved in that, the idea government money is being put into something that the private sector out to be doing. and i tell them, i totally disagree with that. and i disagree with it because the defense advanced research project agency, it was created because in 1941 america got surprised. because we had not kept up with what was going on. and it was created so america would be surprised again by what was going on. i happen to think it makes abundant sense. we will throw some jello at the

wall into some of it is not going to stick. we will make investments that do not show a return on investment. but there is not a bank in america that has an 1000% -- in the loans they make. so do it wisely, have the right type of oversight, because i want america on the cutting edge. i do not want it to be, well, it is -- well, economically it is working. whenn: what is my excuse the lights don't come on? doneperry: and i have everything reasonable to put those tax programs, science, and place -- in place? i happen to think that is being totally immoral. steven: thank you for that. just wrapping up, we have

covered so much and there is a much more i want to cover with you. it would be such a privilege. i know that your dream is a beer and a bait shop in round top, texas. is that your future. or do you have other plans? sec. perry: when i left texas and them, i was going to the air force, my two best friends were going into the marine corps and we made a pact that when we finished up we were going to live in close proximity to each other and run a beer and base store. that was our aspiration. one spent 37 years in the marine corps, incredible is successful. the other was a very successful stockbroker, after he finished his time in the marine corps. i did my flying time, came back and did the things i did. 250today we live within yards of each other on 60 acres outside of roundup, population 90.

[laughter] halfway between houston and austin. steven: how is that going? sec. perry: we decided the store is too much work. [applause] [laughter] y rick: secretar perry. they could very much for joining us. announcer: c-span's washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up this morning, washington post's national security reporter greg miller discusses his new book examining russian interference in the 20 16th election. then the former assistant secretary for african affairs talks about first lady melania trump's trip to africa. be sure to watch washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. eastern this morning. join the discussion. announcer: this weekend on american history tv on c-span3.

forest university professor david lubin on 19th century artist winslow homer. , look at how the fashion choices of betty ford reflected politics. eastern, the.m. ceremony marking the 225th anniversary of the u.s. capitol cornerstone, where president george washington and area freemasons first laid the cornerstone of the u.s. capitol building during a ceremony that wine.ed corn, oil and watch american history tv this weekend on c-span3. bus wasr: the c-span recently in hawaii for the 39th stop of our u.s. capitol store. this weekend we feature that visit on c-span.

book tv and american history tv. explore in hawaii's history as well as public policy issues facing the state. saturday on c-span at 7:00 a.m. eastern on washington journal, the director of hawaii's office of planning will talk about homelessness and lack of affordable housing. on book tv, on c-span 2, stewart coleman on his book about the life of legendary surfer eddie ical. and a visit to the university of hawaii for the book collection of late u.s. senator daniel in no way. on sunday, our hawaiian weekend continues on washington journal. jeff nick alina, executive director of the blue planet foundation, on renewable energy efforts in hawaii. on american history tv, on c-span 30, at 2:00 p.m. eastern we visit the valley of the

priest on the north shore of all wahoo. and. honolulu. an three short documentaries. the 1924 silent film, "the hawaiian islands," and "long jeans." this hawaiian weekend, week and on c-span, but tv and american history tv. listen to hawaii weekend on the free c-span radio app. we're featuring the honolulu mayor on saturday at 10:00 a.m. eastern. trumpday, president visited rochester, minnesota campaign for local congressional candidates and the republican candidate for governor. at his campaign rally, the president talked about his administration's achievements and the midterm electio.