NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/page/2/?s=bingaman)
Two health-insurance reform measures continue to move forward in the nation’s capitol this week without a public option, but both U.S. senators from New Mexico are pledging to keep the public option alive. Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., will hold a hearing this week on a bill that would protect more than 350,000 acres of land in Doña Ana County. Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., says President Barack Obama has some tough decisions to make as he proceeds with fighting the war in Afghanistan. If the president can’t clearly define a strategy, Bingaman said it might be time for the U.S. military to pull out of the country. Continue Reading
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is praising a new health care reform proposal being circulated in Washington that does not include a public option, but he says he will push for public option to be added to the bill. Continue Reading
Heath Haussamen was on NPR on Saturday morning talking about Democrat Jeff Bingaman, one of the “Gang of Six” senators working toward compromise on health-care reform in Washington. Continue Reading
The longtime state director for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman will leave that job to become the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s director for rural development in New Mexico, the Obama administration announced today in a news release. Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman won last week’s non-scientific poll on this site asking which member of New Mexico’s congressional delegation is the most ethical. Of 256 voters, 87, or 34 percent, picked Bingaman, while 79, or 31 percent, picked Sen. Tom Udall. Forty-six, or 18 percent, picked Rep. Martin Heinrich; 34, or 13 percent, picked Rep. Harry Teague; and 10, or 4 percent, picked Rep. Ben Ray Luján. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said he is “very impressed” after meeting earlier today with Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. The two met for about 15 minutes. “She is clearly well qualified and I think she’d be a great addition to the Supreme Court,” Bingaman said in a statement released by his office. Sotomayor also met this afternoon with U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. Udall’s office said a statement was forthcoming. Hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the confirmation of Sotomayor begin in mid-July. Continue Reading
A new article describes U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., as an attentive listener, straight shooter and gentleman who also has “a bit of a stubborn streak.” Sounds about right to me. The article is published in The National Journal Magazine, and takes a look at energy reform legislation being developed in the Senate by profiling the leaders of two committees working on the effort. They are Bingaman, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee. The link to the magazine’s June cover story is here, but you can only read it if you have a subscription. An accompanying interview with Bingaman is here, but also requires a subscription. Continue Reading
For the first time, U.S. senators are required disclose their earmark requests before they can be considered by the appropriations committee. New Mexico’s two senators, Democrats Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, complied with that requirement. I wish their requests were online in a searchable format (they’re non-searchable PDF files), but at least they’re online. Click here for Bingaman’s requests and here for Udall’s. Continue Reading
Senator’s office says article wrongly implies that Steven Rattner forged ties in New Mexico through Bingaman and his son Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s office takes issue with a New York Times article published today that claims a man at the center of controversial investment deals in New Mexico and New York forged “close personal ties” in the Land of Enchantment through Bingaman and his son. Citing “a person with knowledge of the meeting,” the Times article states that Bingaman met on at least one occasion with Steven Rattner, who has been linked to a New York pension scandal that has tentacles in New Mexico. A company Rattner was involved with until recently, Quadrangle Group LLC, won a lucrative contract in 2005 with the State Investment Council (SIC), which Gov. Bill Richardson heads. Rattner gave a total of $20,000 in contributions to Richardson’s 2002 and 2006 campaigns. The Times article also reports that Quadrangle employed Bingaman’s son John until earlier this year. Continue Reading
One more note from the interview I had with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., earlier this week. He’s not up for re-election until 2012, but Senate seats are quite coveted, and many are wondering if he’s going to run again. So I asked him what he’s thinking about whether he will seek a sixth term in three years. Bingaman said this: “I’m not thinking (about that) at this point. I’m working away, taking every day as it comes,” he said. Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., says he wants to provide permanent wilderness protection for land in Doña Ana County — at least the Organ Mountains — and he hopes to get such a bill approved this year or next. “I do think it’s important to protect the Organ Mountains, and perhaps some other areas too,” Bingaman said during an interview in Las Cruces earlier this week. Many who want wilderness in the county believe the new, all-Democratic congressional delegation increases the chances that new wilderness areas will be approved. Congress recently OK’d, and the president just signed, a Bingaman-sponsored land-protection bill that included the creation of a national monument in the Robledo Mountains, located in Doña Ana County, to protect fossilized, prehistoric trackways that are 290 million years old. That monument has been a big part of the fight that has raged for years over protection of land in the county as a coalition led by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance has sparred with a group led by some ranchers and four-wheeling enthusiasts. Continue Reading
On trip to Las Cruces, senator also talks about economy, the border Renewable energy and health-care reform are the primary issues, other than the struggling economy, that New Mexico’s senior U.S. senator says he expects Congress to tackle this year. “Those are going to be the big debates in the Congress for the rest of this year, I think — at least of those we can anticipate,” Sen. Jeff Bingaman said in an interview conducted this week in Las Cruces. Bingaman, a Democrat, was in the southern part of the state to tour a computer-manufacturing facility on the Mexican side of the border and meet with local law-enforcement officials in Las Cruces to discuss immigration and border issues. But he said the economic situation has forced immigration and border security to take a backseat to some other issues in Washington. While he expects Congress to once again take up comprehensive immigration reform during the current, two-year session, he said it’s more likely to happen next year. Continue Reading
New Mexico’s senior U.S. senator is now actively using Facebook, YouTube and iTunes to reach out to constituents and others. Democrat Jeff Bingaman has unveiled a newly updated Facebook page and a YouTube channel. On YouTube you’ll find his podcasts and “policycasts,” which are also available on iTunes. According to Bingaman’s Facebook page, you can e-mail a policy question to webcomments@bingaman.senate.gov, “and I might answer it in a future segment.” “Digital media is constantly changing, and I look forward to experimenting with it more in the future,” Bingaman wrote in a note on his government Web site. “I’ll keep you posted here and on my other homes on the web.” This is a great way to reach out, especially to younger generations. Continue Reading