Jeff Bingaman: “I was very glad to work with Senator Murkowski last year and all members of the committee to report bipartisan energy…”

He has demonstrated, on numerous occasions, his ability to find solutions to very difficult problems and to find solutions that could gain the support of Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.

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

I would certainly like to thank Senator Bingaman, who just retired just very recently, for the strong support that he has shown me over the years, and including support for this nomination.

Second, we would want a person with demonstrated managerial abilities.