Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., on Feb. 18 announced that he does not plan to run for re-election to a sixth term in the Senate in 2012.
Bingaman said it was not easy to decide to leave the Senate, and there is important work that needs to be done. However, he emphasized that he still has the opportunity to get a lot of work accomplished on energy and other issues during the 22 months remaining in his term.
"I've given this my best effort," Bingaman said during a Feb. 18 news conference in Albuquerque, N.M., adding that it seems like the right time to retire from the Senate and move on to new pursuits. He cited personal reasons for his decision.
Bingaman had no words of bitterness about the way business is conducted in the Senate. "Civility reigns in the Senate," he said, adding that it is still a congenial place. During his 28-year Senate career, he has been known for working to create bipartisan legislation on national energy policy, education, health care and public lands policy.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a Feb. 18 statement that Bingaman "has been an honest partner in developing legislation, and under his leadership there's been a real effort to broker bipartisan agreement on policies that advance the nation's energy security."
Added Murkowski: "I look forward to working with him for the remainder of his time in the Senate. His leadership on energy issues will be missed."
Bingaman and his wife plan to return to New Mexico at the end of this term and live in their home in Santa Fe.
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