Jeff Bingaman: “I think my colleague Senator Murkowski referred to bureaucratic intransigence as the reason why we do not have a…”

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.

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

I wouldn't be here without it.

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.