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Entries in jeff bingaman (14)

Thursday
Sep292011

New Mexico Lawmakers Want More Money For Nuclear Waste Cleanup

By Andrea Salazar

Times may be tough but nuclear waste is no area to skimp on.

That’s what Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) are arguing as Congress begins appropriating spending for the 2012 fiscal year budget.

In a letter to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the New Mexico duo urged for more funding for New Mexico’s Water Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) “fence-to-fence” cleanup.

“The senators acknowledge the constraints of the current budget climate and that things are very difficult right now,” said Udall spokeswoman Marissa Padilla. “But what Sen. Udall and Sen. Bingaman are saying is that these are, essentially, two top priorities for New Mexico. They have great importance to the country, and it’s important that they’re properly funded.”

Regarding LANL, waste in the area affects the local community greatly because it affects their drinking water, Padilla said. However, it also has an impact on the country because WIPP receives waste shipments from around the country.

The senators are asking for an increase of $30 million over last year’s funding for WIPP and a budget of $358 million for LANL’s cleanup efforts. They cited safety and a need to comply with the Department of Energy’s consent order to clean up LANL by 2015 as reasons for the increased budgets.

“The importance of removing TRU (transuranic) waste from the site was clearly highlighted this summer when the massive Las Conchas forest fire threatened various laboratory facilities,” the senators wrote in their letter to the subcommittee.

Neither Feinstein nor Alexander could be reached for comment.

Monday
Mar222010

Doctors For America Rejoice Following Passage Of Health Care Reform

By Laurel Brishel Prichard University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service

Advocacy group Doctors For America expressed their excitement Monday over the passage of sweeping health care reform legislation the previous day. The doctors joined together from across the country in D.C. for a march and rally to congratulate the Senate and House for their work on health care reform.

“This legislation will go further and do more to fix the problems of the health care delivery system in my state then anything that I have seen proposed in the 27 years I’ve been here in the Senate,” said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) during a news conference for the association. “This is a great day for our country.”

The doctors, who wore patient identification bands to help associate themselves with their patients that are struggling with the cost of health care, will continue to urge the Senate to pass the reconciliation, which Bingaman says will be passed this week.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) warned that many new programs will have kinks in the beginning, but that health care reform is a monumental achievement for the nation.

“What you are seeing happen here is the beginning of an enormous change, it is not a change that is all done,’ said McDermott “We have to keep coming back and working on it just like we did with Medicare.”

The new reform should be treated like Medicare, according to McDermott, which has been amended every year since its enactment in 1965. One of the amendments that McDermott and Doctors For America pressed hope to create is a program to help future doctors, dentists and nurses with the ever rising cost of school for those fields.

“This bill tells all Americans who are suffering with chronic conditions, whose insurance companies set a lifetime or annual cap on their benefits, that those days are over this year,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL.) said.
Friday
Jan152010

Commission Could Resolve Health Care Workforce Woes

By TRNS/UNM Staff

“By 2020 there will be a shortage of up to 200,000 physicians and 1 million nurses” in the U.S., according a new report put out by the Center for American Progress. Advocates for the inclusion of a National Health Care Workforce Commission in the Congressional health care reform bill say that rural Americans are vulnerable to health care workforce shortages.

“Some expect the shortage to worsen as 78 million baby boomers begin to hit retirement in 2011,” according to the “Closing the Health Care Workforce Gap Report”. The 35-page document was submitted to members of Congress last month.

The Commission could affect thousands of New Mexicans by increasing the number of scholarships given to medical students, which will strengthen a deteriorating health care workforce nationwide.

“This is not a one-shot deal,” said commission supporter U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). “We need an independent organization, a broad, well informed, independent organization that can make recommendations on an annual basis going forward.”

New Mexico has a high number of rural and minority communities. In 2008, there was a 350 to 1 ratio of patients to physicians in New Mexico, according to statehealthfacts.org.

“Data suggests that medical school applicants from underrepresented minority, rural and middle- or low-income families are more likely to practice in underserved areas from which they came,” according to the report.

Bingaman foresees opposition due to political pressure to reduce the cost of the health care reform bill. “We think it’s crucial that this remain in the final legislation,” he said.

The bill is expected to hit President Barack Obama’s desk before the upcoming State of the Union Address.
Tuesday
Nov032009

Lawmakers Seek Stricter Standards For Outdoor Lighting

A bipartisan, bicameral collection of lawmakers announced Tuesday that they will be pursuing legislation to increase the efficiency standards for outdoor lighting fixtures.

“Outdoor lighting consumes the equivalent of the output of about 50 coal plants,” said Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) during an afternoon press conference. “Preliminary estimates are that this agreement will defer the need to build 6 to 8 new plants.”

Although the specific vehicle for the legislation has not yet been decided, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) expressed confidence that it will ultimately receive bipartisan backing in both chambers.

“Not a lot of folks ... think cap-and-trade will get to the President’s desk this year,” said Upton. “One of the reasons is, at least thus far, it has not been bipartisan. It has been partisan. This issue ... really is bipartisan.”

“It’s gonna happen,” Upton added.

According to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the legislation will save the U.S. $2.8-5.1 billion anually by 2030.
Monday
Jul062009

New Report Urges Immediate Conservation Action To Save Nation’s Outdoor Resources

A report released today by The Outdoor Resources Review Group recommended allocating $3.2 billion annually toward the conservation of American land.  The report, entitled “Great Outdoors America”, also includes recommendations for recreational trends, identification of policy failures, and a description of technological changes that have affected the U.S.' outdoor resources.

Honorary Co-Chairs Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) presented the report to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.  

Patrick Noonan, Chairman Emeritus of The Conservation Fund and Member of the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors, briefly outlined a number of recommendations from the report including better coordination with the Department of the Interior and new tax incentives for non-profit and private conservation groups.

“We recommend a nationwide system of blueways and water trails to mobilize communities and organizations to improve water quality close to home,” said Noonan.

The report builds on the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Campaign of 1962 and the President’s Commission on American Outdoors of 1987.

“Much has changed since [the previous reports]: demographics are different, there are more of us...larger minority participation, different roles of women, urbanization...cities have grown to 80% of our population,” said Henry Diamond, partner at Beveridge & Diamond and former commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Diamond added,“Federal government plays a substantial role and spends a lot of money but it is rather disorganized in this field.  There are many agencies...that we think needs changing.  We think the land and water fund has a history of being starved."  

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar emphasized that action to conserve America’s landscapes is necessary now because of the troubled economy, wars, and health care issues Americans face today.

“It is in the most difficult times of our country that we look to the landscapes to refuel the spirit and the greatness of our country,” Salazar explained.

Salazar provided three reasons why conservations efforts should be a top priority including job creation, health benefits, and response to climate change.