senator jeff bingaman give it up. thank you, senator. >> >> than<'<kato2sñev >> stephen: dwoam back, everybody. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] folks, i spent the entire first act talking about myself, but not all the news is that hard-hitting. for instance, yesterday, this is what everyone was covering: a monkey loose in a fur coat loose at ikea. note to the media: a monkey at ikea is not news. [ laughter ] a monkey building the "fjell" four-drawer chest with no dowels leftover -- that's news. [ laughter ] s. [ applause ] so what's a pundit with no juicy stories to get angry about supposed to do? luckily, the folks over at fox news are always prepared to smash the glass and pull out the emergency muslims. [ laughter ] >> the ground zero mosque was supposed to be a cultural center, remember? >> turns out it's an empty space with no community programs dozen of worshipers gather at the site for prayer services. >> it is all pray and no play. >> it's all pray and no play. >> it turns out we may have been

senator jeff bingaman give it up. thank you, senator. >> thank you.eers and applause] >> stephen: dwoam back, everybody. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] folks, i spent the entire first act talking about myself, but not all the news is that hard-hitting. for instance, yesterday, this is what everyone was covering: a monkey loose in a fur coat loose at ikea. note to the media: a monkey at ikea is not news. [ laughter ] a monkey building the "fjell" four-drawer chest with no dowels leftover -- that's news. [ laughter ] s. [ applause ] so what's a pundit with no juicy stories to get angry about supposed to do? luckily, the folks over at fox news are always prepared to smash the glass and pull out the emergency muslims. [ laughter ] >> the ground zero mosque was supposed to be a cultural center, remember? >> turns out it's an empty space with no community programs dozen of worshipers gather at the site for prayer services. >> it is all pray and no play. >> it's all pray and no play. >> it turns out we may have been lied to. >> you could call this

this has been jeff bingaman's both owe for the last 30 years. he is not one for flashy press conferences. he is really most of the time too busy getting things done. jeff learned humility in the small town of silver city, new mexico, where he tbriew up. his father was a professor. his mom a teacher. they instilled in him a love and appreciation for education, and that is an understatement. he got his bachelor's degree at harvard, his law degree from stanford. mr. president, those are the two -- two of the finest educational institutions in the world, and he has a degree from both of them, harvard and stanford. at stanford where he is going to law school, he met his wonderful wife ann. i have such warmth for this woman. we have traveled together. i can remember trips we took on senate codels. she was always the life of the party. she was a great match for jeff. jeff being quiet, subdued. ann not always so. i love them both. ann is a political powerhouse in her own right. she served three years as head of the antitrust division at the department of

and it is part of the legacy of jeff bingaman. we are spending time these days debating the failings of the senate, the gridlock, the partisanship. in contrast, jeff's commit has been the leading light of cooperation and compromise. when other committees lost their bipartisan way, the energy committee kept steady. i believe the standard he set will shape future energy policy and natural resources policy in the years to come. i hope it guides us into the next year. when this body shahs looked for answers -- when this body has looked for answers, so often it has turned to jeff bingaman. no surprise that he was one of the gang of six to negotiate health care reform. when real solutions are on the agenda, jeff will have a seat at the table. jeff was also one of the key negotiators in the no child left behind act, and he pushed for the technology for education act and the america competes act, raising standards for all students, increasing opportunity for all americans because he knows that investments in education and technology and tr

that's jeff bingaman. that's his sweeping, long-range vision, one we should all heed. his commitment to thoughtful, forward-looking service on our nation's long-term competitiveness is going to be sorely missed. but even more, i know many of us will miss his reserved, dignified passion. i had a similar experience, mr. president, with senator herb kohl, my colleague on the judiciary committee. i remember in my first few months there that senator kohl spoke so rarely that when i first heard him speak at an event on the manufacturing extension partnership, one of his passions and mine, i was struck by the power and reach of his voice. it's because he uses it so sparingly. but his example speaks even louder. he never sought the spotlight here but worked tirelessly to make a difference fighting for the little guy on antitrust issues in the judiciary committee. he believes, as do i, that if an american entrepreneur has a great idea, we should help protect that idea by preventing trade secret theft and other intellectual property threats. we also share a deep commitment to th

steve is also a former policy adviser for new mexico senator jeff bingaman. thank you for being here. >> great to be with you rachel. >> am i being naive to think this was going to pass? >> a lot of people thought it was going to pass. of all the treaties, this would be the easiest to pass. there were other treaties pending. this is about people in need and it didn't. this is a branch of the gop that did you want represent all republicans, but it's the obnoxious nationalist wing that really resents any international deal making. there's a lot of worry not just about people with disabilities, but all the other treaties that position the united states and show that it can be the primary sculptor of global affairs, and we're defecting from that as of today's vote. >> so 126 countries ratifying this, but us, not ratifying it. particularly when it's modeled on our law. that takes us out of a global leadership role? >> it leaves a void that the united states is walking away from the responsibility of primary leadership in the world of sculpting global affairs in th

jeff bingaman has distinguished himself through his work on the energy and natural resources committee to improve our energy policy and energy efficiency. he has the vision and the knowledge which he has displayed so many times to deal with the difficult issues that face it's with respect to the use, the appropriate use of energy. he's also focused on some of the greatest challenges facing our educational system, including presenting dropouts and the use of education technology. scott brown drew on his use in the national guard to advocate for our service members. i'm pleased we were oibl able to create the office of the office of affairs at the consumer protection bureau. i've had the honor of serving with kay bailey hutchison. joe lieberman and i have worked many, many hours to protect the submarine industrial base that's crucial not only to our strategic posture but also to our local economies. and he's done it with great vision and great energy and i thank him for that. richard lugar is one of the most decent and thoughtful individuals ever to serve in this body. we will miss his w

the senate is saying farewell to again one of our most popular and respected members, senator jeff bingaman of new mexico. when jeff came to this body 30 years ago, he had already led a life of accomplishment created in small-town new mexico, silver city. he was an eagle scout, graduated from harvard college, stanford law school, where he met his future wife, ann. while at stanford, he worked in senator robert f. kennedy's campaign for president. at the age of 35, he was elected new mexico attorney general in 1978. and four years later at the age of 39, elected to the united states senate. during his three decades in this body, jeff bingaman has been a classic workhorse senator as opposed to being a show horse senator. he is truly remarkable and distinctive among senators for his willingness to shun the limelight and share the credit in order to get important things done for his state and for this country. senator bingaman has been a much valued colleague of mine on the health, education, labor and pensions committee, but he has really made his mark in the senate a lasting mark in his role

and i do want to say that we're really going to miss senator jeff bingaman, our chairman on that energy committee. he has done a remarkable job at putting clean energy front and center of our agenda. and then this tax credit was most recently extended in 2009 as part of president obama's recovery act. so renewable energy has enjoyed long-standing bipartisan support, and the wind tax credit has been a great success. the cost of wind power has fallen dramatically as the presiding officer knows, it has fallen dramatically over the years. for example, general -- g.e.'s wind power costs have dropped from 15 cents per kill a watt-hour to near five cents in the last ten years. wind is becoming cost competitive with fossil fuels. on some days, it's the cheapest electricity available. let me just repeat that because that's important, because we hear arguments out there that, oh, this is expensive, but on some days, it is the cheapest electricity available. the department of energy estimates we could receive 20% of our electric power from wind alone by 2030, but we need to stay the course and sup

i also want to say a goodbye to our friend, jeff bingaman, of new mexico, someone who's always brought intellectual rigor, a lawyer's insistence on thoroughness and a real commitment to people. it's been an honor and a pleasure to work with him on the help committee, especially on the affordable care act. i was proud to support him all that he did, particularly in developing and focusing on the health work force for the future. i knew i could count on jeff in the committee and on the floor as one of those men that i refer to as the ga gallahads, where mn of quality always support we women as we sought equality. our initiatives to end discrimination against women in the health care and in the workplace were some of our proudest achievements in working together. i also would like to comment about jon kyl. i've worked across the aisle from jon kyl and i've been seated across the table from him at everything from bible study group to the senate intelligence committee. we studied the words of the bible together to make ourselves better and we worked in our committees to make the world bette