Jeff Bingaman

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Jeff Bingaman
United States Senator from New Mexico
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1983 Serving with Tom Udall
Preceded by	Harrison Schmitt
Attorney General of New Mexico
In office 1979 – 1983
Governor	Toney Anaya
Preceded by	Toney Anaya
Succeeded by	Paul Bardacke
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
In office January 3 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by	Frank Murkowski
Succeeded by	Frank Murkowski
In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Frank Murkowski
Succeeded by	Pete Domenici
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 4, 2007
Preceded by	Pete Domenici
Born	October 3, 1943 (1943-10-03) (age 65) El Paso, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Anne Kovacovich Bingaman
Residence	Santa Fe, New Mexico
Alma mater	Stanford Law School (J.D.) Harvard University (B.A.)
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Methodist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1968-1974
Unit	Reserves

Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is the senior U.S. Senator from New Mexico. He has been in the Senate since 1983 and is a member of the Democratic Party. Bingaman was Attorney General of New Mexico from 1978 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1982, when he defeated Republican incumbent and former astronaut Harrison Schmitt. He was re-elected in 1988, 1994, 2000, and 2006.

After 26 years spent as a Junior Senator, Bingaman became New Mexico's Senior Senator, as Pete Domenici decided to not seek reelection in 2008. In the general elections held on November 4, 2008, Democrat Tom Udall won Domenici's seat in the Senate.

[edit] Early life and career

Bingaman was born in El Paso, Texas to Frances Bethia Ball and Jesse Francis Bingaman.^[1] He grew up in Silver City, New Mexico. His father taught at Western New Mexico University and his mother taught in the public schools system. At age 15, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout.^[2] The Boy Scouts of America presented Bingaman with their Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.^[3]

After graduating from Silver High School, Bingaman went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard University in 1965. He then entered Stanford Law School, graduating in 1968. Bingaman is married to Anne Kovacovich Bingaman; they have one child. He met his wife while attending law classes.

After his admission to the bar, Bingaman commenced work as a private practice attorney alongside his wife. He also served as counsel to the New Mexico Constitutional Convention of 1969. From 1968 to 1974, Bingaman was a member of the US Army Reserve.

On December 13 2008, Bingaman was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from New Mexico State University at the university's Fall 2008 commencement ceremony.

[edit] New Mexico Attorney General

In 1969, Bingaman had worked briefly in the state attorney general's office. He ran for the leadership position of this office in 1978 and was elected. Environmental and antitrust issues were some of his biggest concerns while in this position.

[edit] Senate

In 1982, Bingaman unseated the one term incumbent, Harrison Schmitt to win his first term in the Senate. Bingaman is Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Finance Committee; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and Joint Committee on the Economy.

Bingaman and his Senate colleague Pete Domenici were the longest serving duo among senators in the 110th United States Congress (2007-2009). In second place were Edward Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts. Bingaman was the most senior junior senator in the 110th United States Congress. Currently, Bingaman is the senior senator from New Mexico.

On April 28, 2008, Jeff Bingaman endorsed Senator Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination.

[edit] Issue positions

[edit] Immigration

Being from a border state with Mexico, Bingaman has been much involved in the debate over illegal immigration. He believes in increased enforcement of borders to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, including more patrol agents and the use of surveillance cameras. However, he also believes that the U.S. should enact a guest worker program so that immigrants looking for honest work can arrive legally[1].

[edit] Energy and the environment

Throughout his political career, Bingaman has burnished a pro-environmental record. He has worked consistently to protect wildlife and public lands. He spoke publicly about the necessity of the Clean Energy Act of 2007, citing the importance of developing clean technology and green jobs. He stated his support for the bill's principle of eliminating tax breaks on gas and oil companies.^[4]

Since 2006, Bingaman has been working on a bill that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions via a "cap and trade" system." He has stated that he would like to see his plan implemented so that emissions would be reduced to 1990 levels by 2030. His bill would also increase levels of federal funding for research and development of green technologies.^[5]

[edit] Abortion and civil rights

Bingaman has voted in line with the liberal wing of his party on abortion, and he has received a 100% rating from from the pro-choice NARAL. He has voiced his support to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine.^[6] Although he voted in 1996 for the Defense of Marriage Act, he voted against a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and has been ranked favorably by gay rights groups (89% from the HRC). He has also voted twice against a proposed amendment to ban flag desecration and has supported affirmative action[2].

[edit] Iraq War

On October 11, 2002, Jeff Bingaman was among the 23 Senators who voted against authorizing the Iraq War [3].

[edit] Crime and torture

Bingaman has a generally prorehabilitation stance on crime, supporting more programs to prevent youth crime, lower high school dropout rates, and stop drug use. Bingaman has been an outspoken critic of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay. He cites the need for due process of law for detainees by saying:

"The current practice of holding detainees or prisoners indefinitely, without affording them basic due process rights, has been widely criticized in this country and throughout the world. For a country such as ours that has consistently advocated for the rule of law, the policies of the current administration are nothing short of a major embarrassment... How we handle prisoners can have a dramatic impact on how our own men and women are treated in the event they are themselves taken prisoner."[4]

[edit] 2006 reelection campaign

Bingaman faced no opposition in the June 6, 2006 primary. The Republican primary was won by Allen McCulloch, a urologist and former chemical engineer. Bingaman won a landslide reelection, defeating his opponent by a 41.3 point margin.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Chairman)
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on International Trade and Global Competitiveness
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
• Joint Economic Committee

[edit] Electoral history

• 2006 New Mexico United States Senate Election
  • Jeff Bingaman (D) (inc.), 70.6%
  • Allen McCulloch (R), 29.3%
  • Orlin G. Cole, 0.06%

• 2000 New Mexico United States Senate Election
  • Jeff Bingaman (D) (inc.), 61.7%
  • Bill Redmond (R), 38.25%
  • Orlin G. Cole, 0.04%

• 1994 New Mexico United States Senate Election
  • Jeff Bingaman (D) (inc.), 53.97%
  • Colin R. McMillan (R), 45.99%

• 1988 New Mexico United States Senate Election
  • Jeff Bingaman (D) (inc.), 63.2%
  • Bill Valentine (R), 36.8%

• 1982 New Mexico United States Senate Election
  • Jeff Bingaman (D), 53.8%
  • Harrison Schmitt (R) (inc.), 46.2%

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

Find more about Jeff Bingaman on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from Wikiversity

• United States Senator Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Senate site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jeff Bingaman profile
• About.com — Jeff Bingaman profile

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