Jeff Bingaman: “Our country is struggling with some of the toughest economic challenges we've seen, at least in my lifetime.”

He knows the crucial role that Congress plays in setting policy and in overseeing how that policy is carried out.

First we would want a person as Secretary of Energy who had a knowledge of science and engineering.

I think all of us, if we were choosing a Secretary of Energy, would want to choose somebody with those attributes.

It's important that we have a person with substantial knowledge and many varied skills in order to succeed.