Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the nomination of Steven Chu to be secretary of the Department of Energy:

"This past October, I got to spend the better part of a day with Dr. Steven Chu at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, discussing energy research and technology frontiers. I was impressed with his knowledge and insights, and the leadership he has provided at the Laboratory.  Dr. Chu is intimately familiar with the national laboratories has worked closely with the labs directors of Sandia and Los Alamos.  He’ll know how to maximize the labs’ capabilities in their current core mission, and tap into their expertise to tackle newer, critical missions – such as climate change and energy security.”