Jeff Bingaman served in the U.S. Senate from 1982-2013 and was Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 2001-2002, and again from 2007 until the end of his term in the 112th Congress. In the 109th Congress, Bingaman played a major role in the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the first comprehensive energy bill to become law in 13 years. He was also a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a senior member of the Joint Economic Committee. Before being elected to the Senate, Bingaman was elected New Mexico attorney general. The former New Mexico Senator has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and law degree from Stanford.