Jeff Bingaman

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall reported that the Senate has approved legislation to fund key construction projects at New Mexico's military installations.

The fiscal year 2010 Military Construction and Department of Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Act sets aside a total of $172 million for Cannon, Kirtland and Holloman Air Force Bases, as well as the National Guard facility in Santa Fe.

"This bill invests millions of dollars in New Mexico's military installations and ensures that our Air Force and National Guard facilities remain in top shape," Bingaman said. "It is another way to support the men and women of our armed forces."    » read more »

November 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today joined in introducing legislation aimed at helping ensuring America's food supply continues to be safe.

The National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Program Act builds on an existing U.S. Department of Agriculture program and aims to provide outreach, training and technical assistance to the country's small farmers and small-scale food processors to help assure a safe supply of fruits and vegetables.

"This legislation in an important step in helping small, local farms, organic producers and other food processors with the resources they need to produce food safely," Bingaman said.    » read more »

November 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Kit Bond (R-MO) today introduced an amendment that would increase funding to provide transitional housing for homeless veterans, calling it our nation's sacred responsibility to support the men and women who answered America's call to duty.

The amendment would add $6 million to the $144 million already allocated for the Homeless Grant and Per Diem Program through the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill. This additional funding would bring the program to its full authorization level of $150 million. The appropriations bill is currently being debated by the full Senate.    » read more »

November 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today introduced legislation to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – a law that provides funding to protect sensitive landscapes and grants to states to develop recreation areas and facilities.

Right now, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is subject to the annual appropriations process. And Congress has rarely appropriated the $900 million that is authorized annually. As a result, the levels of funding for both federal and state agencies have fluctuated wildly.    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he is pleased the Senate has approved legislation to extend unemployment benefits to thousands of New Mexicans who have been unable to find a job in this difficult economic climate.

The bill would extend unemployment insurance by up to 14 additional weeks for jobless workers in all states and up to 20 weeks in hard-hit states with unemployment levels at or above 8.5 percent. New Mexico's unemployment rate as of September was 7.7 percent, up from 4.3 percent a year ago.    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today urged Congress to swiftly take up and pass energy legislation aimed at creating "green collar" jobs.

"The economy has lost 7.2 million jobs during this recession -- one out of every 20 jobs in the country. In percentage terms, that is the biggest job loss since the recession in 1948 and 1949," Bingaman said, in a speech on the Senate floor.    » read more »

October 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has released over $10 million for four New Mexico projects aimed at exploring and developing new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. Funding comes from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

“Geothermal energy can be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly form of energy production. This funding will help New Mexico take advantage of the current technology, and make investments in advancing this important technology, as well,” Bingaman said.    » read more »

October 28, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the Navajo Tribal Utility Association will receive a $4.9 million grant to better serve its 38,000 customers.

The funding, which comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to install a “smart grid” network and data management system that will quickly identify system outages.

“This is an important investment in the Navajo Nation – one that will result in better service to the Navajo Nation Utility Association’s nearly 40,000 customers,” Bingaman said. “At the same time, this grant will help create good jobs in the area.”    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has released over $10 million for four New Mexico projects aimed at exploring and developing new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. Funding comes from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

“Geothermal energy can be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly form of energy production. This funding will help New Mexico take advantage of the current technology, and make investments in advancing this important technology, as well,” Bingaman said.    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today introduced a bill aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change on resources like forests, clean water, and fish and wildlife habitat and the communities and economies that depend on these resources.

Reports from the last several seasons indicate that increasing temperatures associated with climate change are resulting in less snowpack in many regions of the country, thus changing the timing of snow-melt runoff. In New Mexico, an already arid state, this trend could be devastating.    » read more »

October 26, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today applauded news that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intends to include a public option in the health insurance reform bill that the Senate will debate in the coming weeks. A public insurance option is a non-profit health care plan that would be run by the federal government and financed with premiums.

Bingaman helped craft the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee’s public plan proposal, and voted for both unsuccessful measures to include a public plan in the Senate Finance Committee’s bill.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall voted (80-17) to give final passage to a key spending bill that supports New Mexico’s two national laboratories, the Waste Isolation Pilot Project and a variety of key water-related projects.

The 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill is now ready to be sent to the White House for signature.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today voted to approve a spending bill that contains more than $45 million dollars to support national defense efforts, including work at White Sands Missile Range and various New Mexico universities.

The Senate passed the fiscal year 2010 Defense Spending Bill (93-07); the measure must now be reconciled with the bill passed by the House of Representatives.

"This spending bill funds projects in our state that are critical to our nation's defense. I'm especially pleased that we are providing $6 million to support the National Guard's effective counter-drug activities along the border," Bingaman said.    » read more »

Clearing the Way for Historic Water Rights Settlement

October 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today joined New Mexico’s congressional delegation to advance a vital water supply project that will provide clean, safe and reliable water to a quarter of a million people in the Navajo Nation, the City of Gallup and the Jicarilla Apache Nation. The action clears the way for resolving the Navajo Nation’s long-standing water rights claims in the state.    » read more »

September 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today voted for two amendments that would have created a public insurance option in the health insurance reform legislation being written by Senate Finance Committee. Neither amendment passed.

"If we're going to drive down health care costs for the long term, we need to have adequate competition in the marketplace. I strongly believe we should create a non-profit entity to compete with insurance companies to offer the best care at the lowest cost," Bingaman said. "While neither public option amendment considered today was approved, we still have an opportunity to write a bill that encourages healthy competition."    » read more »