Biography provided by participant
Bingaman has served in the U.S. Senate since 1982 and as chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2001-2002 and again beginning in 2007 to present. In the 109th Congress, he played a major role in the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the first comprehensive energy bill to become law in 13 years. Just two years later, Sen. Bingaman was the lead sponsor of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 which required a historic increase in vehicle fuel economy, boosted homegrown biofuels, and mandated the most sweeping energy efficiency legislation ever to be put into law. Bingaman serves on the Senate Finance Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure. He is also a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a senior member of the Joint Economic Committee. Before coming to the Senate, Bingaman was elected New Mexico attorney general. The New Mexico Senator has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and law degree from Stanford.
