Jeff Bingaman

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• 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, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
  • Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Children and Families
  • Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging
• Joint Economic Committee

• Congressional Competitiveness Caucus (Co-Chair)
• International Conservation Caucus
• Senate Diabetes Caucus

Bingaman with President Obama in 2010

In 1982, Bingaman was elected to the Senate, defeating one-term Republican incumbent Harrison Schmitt. Bingaman accused Schmitt of not paying enough attention to local matters; his campaign slogan was "What on Earth has he done for you lately?"—a jab at Schmitt's previous service as an astronaut who had walked on the Moon.[6] He was reelected four times.

Bingaman was 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.

Generally, Bingaman kept a fairly low national profile, even though he was the ninth most senior member of the Senate at the time of his retirement. He was very popular in New Mexico, facing substantive opposition only once, in 1994.

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 Ted Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts. Due to serving alongside Domenici, the longest-serving Senator in New Mexico's history, Bingaman spent 26 years as New Mexico's junior Senator, though ironically he had more seniority than all but a few of his colleagues. He was the most-senior junior senator in the 110th United States Congress.

On April 28, 2008, Bingaman endorsed Senator Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

On February 18, 2011, Bingaman announced that he would not seek reelection in 2012.[7][8] He formally retired on January 3, 2013, ending the second-longest Senate tenure in the state's history, behind only Domenici.

Being from a border state with Mexico, Bingaman was highly involved in the debate over illegal immigration. He believed 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 believed that the U.S. should enact a guest worker program so that immigrants looking for honest work could arrive legally.[9] Bingaman voted against the Secure Fence Act in 2006.[10] He voted against declaring English to be the official language of the US government and voted in favor of continuing federal funds to self-declared "sanctuary cities".[10]

Throughout his political career, Bingaman had a pro-environmental record. He 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.[11]

Starting in 2006, Bingaman worked unsuccessfully to pass a bill that would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions via a "cap and trade" system. He stated his hope of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2030. His bill would also have increased federal funding for research and development of green technologies.[12]

Bingaman voted in line with the majority of his party on abortion, and he received a 100% rating from the pro-choice NARAL. He supported reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.[13] Although he voted in 1996 for the Defense of Marriage Act, he voted against a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and was ranked favorably by gay rights groups (such as 89% from the Human Rights Campaign). He also voted twice against a proposed amendment to ban flag desecration, and supported affirmative action.[14]

On October 11, 2002, Jeff Bingaman was among the 23 Senators who voted against authorizing the Iraq War.[15]

Bingaman had a generally pro-rehabilitation stance on crime, supporting more programs to prevent youth crime, lower high school dropout rates, and stop drug use. Bingaman was an outspoken critic of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He cited 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. Archived 2006-02-05 at the Wayback Machine

Bingaman supported President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,[16] and voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.[17]