Energy Secretary Perry visits Hanford, wants budget to “get the job done”

A bit reluctant to "cut off" the air supply to two workers at the HAMMER facility, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry twisted a knob as part of an exercise demonstration.

The federal training facility, which works to bring the latest safety equipment and procedures to Hanford workers, was one stop on Secretary Perry's tour of the Tri-Cities. Secretary Perry first stopped for a tour of McNary Dam in Umatilla on Monday, than PNNL and Hanford Tuesday.

On his tour of the HAMMER Federal Training Center, he asked few questions, but appeared to take in all that was demonstrated to him. At one point, sharing a story in his military days about a mistake he made in training. He said he was told it was a lot better to mess up in front of your friends than your enemies and compared that to the radioactive waste being the "enemy," stating he believed the training was important.

Later in a media interview, Perry said his goal when it comes to the Hanford budget is a number that gets the "job done," while keeping safety as a priority. Perry would not go into details about how much he feels is required or if the budget would be more or less than it is at currently.

"We're a team and hopefully representing the people out here in a way that they are comfortable, they are getting a good return on their investment. That's certainly our interest in making sure the federal dollars are expended out here are done appropriately, efficiently, but again the final result is done in a safe way," says Perry.

Currently, the proposed budget dollars differ in the House, Senate and Trump's proposal for both PNNL and Hanford. The President's proposal made deep cuts to both projects, but the House and Senate are fighting to reduce those cuts.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell and U.S. Congressmen Dan Newhouse and Greg Walden from Oregon also joined Secretary Perry on his two-day tour.

You can find the full media interview recorded below from his visit to the HAMMER training facility:

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