Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He is currently the junior
United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously worked as managing director for the
Anschutz Investment CompanyThe Anschutz Corporation is a privately-held holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It was started in 1958 by Fred Anschutz, an wildcatter, and the father of Philip Anschutz, who took over the company in 1962....
, chief of staff to Denver Mayor
John HickenlooperJohn Wright Hickenlooper is an American politician and current Governor of Colorado. A Democrat, he was previously the Mayor of Denver, Colorado from 2003 to 2011.-Early life, education and career:...
, and the superintendent of
Denver Public SchoolsThe Denver County School District No. 1, more commonly known as the Denver Public Schools , is the public school system in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States.-History:...
.
Born in
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, he is the son of
Douglas J. BennetDouglas Joseph “Doug” Bennet, Jr. is a former national political official and college president. He was the fifteenth president of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, from 1995 to 2007...
, a former
State DepartmentThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
official and college president. In high school Bennet worked as a
Senate pageA United States Senate Page is a non-partisan federal employee serving the United States Senate in Washington, DC. Despite the non-partisan affiliation, Pages are typically divided to serve the party that appointed them.-Selection:In order to become a US Senate Page, one must first be nominated...
on Capitol Hill. After graduating from
Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
he worked for Ohio Governor Richard Celeste. He went on to receive his law degree from
Yale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the
Yale Law JournalThe Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...
. He worked as a law clerk and later as Counsel to the
U.S. Deputy Attorney GeneralUnited States Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. In the United States federal government, the Deputy Attorney General oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice, and may act as Attorney General during the...
in the
Clinton administrationThe United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the federal government of the United States from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. Clinton was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term...
.
Bennet worked for six years with the Anschutz Investment Company in Denver. As Managing Director he led the reorganizations of four distressed companies, requiring the restructuring of over $3 billion in debt. As
chief of staffThe title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
to Mayor Hickenlooper, he worked on balancing budgets and negotiating
collective-bargainingCollective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
agreements. He became
superintendentIn education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
of the Denver public school system in July 2005, where he revised a
merit payMerit pay is a term describing performance-related pay, most frequently in the context of educational reform. It provides bonuses for workers who perform their jobs effectively, according to measurable criteria...
proposal with the support of local teachers. Acknowledging his work in Denver,
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine listed him among the nation's eleven leading educational activists in 2011.
As one of President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's early advisers on education issues, Bennet was speculated in late 2008 as a frontrunner for Obama's
United States Secretary of EducationThe United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession...
. He was instead appointed by Governor Bill Ritter to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by
Ken SalazarKenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
when Salazar became
Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
in January 2009. Bennet was re-elected in the 2010 Senate election where he defeated Republican
Ken BuckKenneth R. "Ken" Buck is the District Attorney for Weld County, Colorado, and was the unsuccessful Republican challenger to Michael Bennet in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Colorado.-Early life and education:...
. Now serving his first full term, he is the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources.
Early life, family, and education
He was born in
New DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
while his father,
Douglas J. BennetDouglas Joseph “Doug” Bennet, Jr. is a former national political official and college president. He was the fifteenth president of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, from 1995 to 2007...
, was serving as an aide to
Chester BowlesChester Bliss Bowles was a liberal Democratic American diplomat and politician from Connecticut.-Biography:...
, then the U.S.
ambassadorAmerican Embassy New Delhi was established Nov 1, 1946, with George R. Merrell as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.-Chiefs of Mission to India:-See also:*Embassy of India, Washington, D.C.*India – United States relations*Foreign relations of India...
to
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The elder Bennet ran the
United States Agency for International DevelopmentThe United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
under President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, served as President and CEO of National Public Radio (1983–1993),
Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization AffairsThe Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs is the head of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs within the American Department of State that creates and executes policy in international organizations such as the United Nations...
in the Clinton Administration (1993–1995), and President of
Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
(1995–2007). His grandfather, Douglas Bennet, had been an economic adviser in
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
’s administration. His grandmother, Phoebe Bennet née Benedict, is a direct-line descendant of
Edward FullerEdward Fuller crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower...
, who crossed the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
from
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to
Plymouth ColonyPlymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
on the
MayflowerThe Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
in 1620.
Bennet's mother, Susanne Bennet née Klejman, immigrated to the United States with her family in 1950. Her parents were Polish Jews and survived imprisonment in the
Warsaw GhettoThe Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
. Bennet's mother is a retired school librarian who teaches English as a second language for a Washington nonprofit, and is also an
art historianArt history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
specializing in
Roman antiquitiesAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. She is fluent in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
,
PolishPolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
,
SwedishSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and
SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
His brother,
James BennetJames Douglas Bennet is an American journalist. Since 2006, he has been the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.-Background and family:...
, is editor of
The Atlantic and a former correspondent of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
He grew up in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as his father served as an aide to Vice President
Hubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, among others. Bennet was held back in second grade because of his struggle with
dyslexiaDyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
. He was enrolled at
St. Albans SchoolSt. Albans School is an independent college preparatory school for boys in grades 4–12, located in Washington, D.C. The school is named after Saint Alban, traditionally regarded as the first British martyr. Within the St...
, an all-boys
preparatory schoolA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
, and served as a
pageA United States Senate Page is a non-partisan federal employee serving the United States Senate in Washington, DC. Despite the non-partisan affiliation, Pages are typically divided to serve the party that appointed them.-Selection:In order to become a US Senate Page, one must first be nominated...
on Capitol Hill. Bennet also served as a Coro Foundation fellow in New York city.
On October 26, 1997, he married Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund attorney Susan Daggett in
Marianna, ArkansasMarianna is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Arkansas, United States, along the L'Anguille River. The community was established by Col. Walter H. Otey in 1848 and was known as Walnut Ridge until 1852 when it became known as Marianna...
. They have three daughters and reside in Denver's
Congress ParkCongress Park is a park and a neighborhood in the City and County of Denver, Colorado. In 2007, the neighborhood had 11,247 residents and 6,388 housing units.-Boundaries:...
neighborhood.
Bennet earned his B.A. in history with honors from
Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in 1987, where he was a member of
Beta Theta PiBeta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...
, and his
law degreeJuris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from
Yale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the
Yale Law JournalThe Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...
.
Though neither of his parents were religiously observant, Bennet has stated that he was "raised with two different heritages, one [that] was Jewish and one [that] was
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
," and that he believes in God.
Career before U.S. Senate
From 1988 until 1990, when he left to attend Yale, he served as an aide to Ohio Governor Richard Celeste. After law school he served as a law clerk for the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. He then served as Counsel to the
Deputy Attorney GeneralUnited States Deputy Attorney General is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. In the United States federal government, the Deputy Attorney General oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department of Justice, and may act as Attorney General during the...
during
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's
administrationThe United States Presidency of Bill Clinton, also known as the Clinton Administration, was the executive branch of the federal government of the United States from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001. Clinton was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second full term...
. His father,
Douglas J. BennetDouglas Joseph “Doug” Bennet, Jr. is a former national political official and college president. He was the fifteenth president of Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, from 1995 to 2007...
, worked in the Clinton White House as well, as
Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization AffairsThe Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs is the head of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs within the American Department of State that creates and executes policy in international organizations such as the United Nations...
.
Bennet then entered the business world, working for six years in Denver as Managing Director for the
Anschutz Investment CompanyThe Anschutz Corporation is a privately-held holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It was started in 1958 by Fred Anschutz, an wildcatter, and the father of Philip Anschutz, who took over the company in 1962....
where he had direct responsibility for the investment of over $500 million. He led the reorganizations of four distressed companies, including Forcenergy (which later merged with Denver-based Forest Oil),
Regal CinemasRegal Cinemas is a UK-based cinema chain since the early days of the cinema. In 1928, Regal Cinemas became part of Associated British Cinemas but has retained the name 'Regal Cinemas'....
,
United ArtistsUnited Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
and Edwards Theaters, which together required the restructuring of over $3 billion in debt. Bennet also managed, on behalf of Anschutz, the consolidation of the three theater chains into
Regal Entertainment GroupRegal Entertainment Group also known as REG is a movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Regal operates the largest and most geographically diverse theater circuit in the United States, consisting of 6,775 screens in 548 locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia as of...
, the largest motion picture exhibitor in the world.
Moving back into public service, Bennet served for two years as the Chief of Staff to
Denver Mayor John HickenlooperJohn Wright Hickenlooper is an American politician and current Governor of Colorado. A Democrat, he was previously the Mayor of Denver, Colorado from 2003 to 2011.-Early life, education and career:...
. Highlights of his accomplishments at the city include: closing an initial 10-percent budget gap in the first two months of office; balancing two consecutive budgets in Denver's worst recession in history while preserving city services; conducting five collective-bargaining negotiations; devising strategies to pass five ballot initiatives; and assembling a very diverse, widely acknowledged leadership team for the city.
Bennet was appointed
superintendentIn education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
of
Denver Public SchoolsThe Denver County School District No. 1, more commonly known as the Denver Public Schools , is the public school system in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States.-History:...
on June 27, 2005, taking office on the following July 1. During his tenure, he revised a merit pay proposal that earned the support of local teachers and he was initially opposed to closing the failing
Manual High SchoolManual High School is located in the Whittier neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado.-Demographics:*5.6% white*40.9% African American*58.1% Latino*0% Native American*0.3% Asian- Manual Today :...
, which was later reopened.
Bennet was among the many officials whose names were circulated for
United States Secretary of EducationThe United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession...
in the
Obama AdministrationThe Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009 when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election...
, which was eventually filled by
Arne DuncanArne Duncan is an American education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.-Early years and personal:...
. Bennet and his wife were early supporters of
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's presidential bid during the 2008 Democratic primaries and he was among those who advised Barack Obama on education issues.
Appointment
On January 3, 2009, he was named by
Colorado GovernorThe Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...
Bill Ritter to fill the seat in the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
vacated by
United States Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Ken SalazarKenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
on January 20. Upon taking office on January 21, 2009, he had stated that he would seek election at the end of his term in 2010.
Referencing Bennet's tenure as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Time magazine listed Bennet among eleven leading educational activists for 2011. In a January 2011 article in
Time entitled "Shaking Schools Up in an Already Tumultuous Year," the author of the article, Andrew J. Rotherham, said of Bennet: "If the federal
No Child Left Behind ActThe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
is modified this year, or if anything else of significance happens in Washington on education policy, this Colorado Democrat will be at the center of it."
2010 election
Bennet ran for re-election as Senator from Colorado in the 2010 election. On September 16, 2009, former Colorado House
SpeakerThe term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
Andrew RomanoffHarlan Andrew Romanoff is an American politician. A Democrat, he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008, serving as Speaker from 2005 to 2008...
announced his campaign to challenge Bennet for the Democratic nomination.
Bennet received endorsements from President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, U.S. Senator
Mark UdallMark Emery Udall is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing . He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the...
, and U.S. Representatives
Betsy MarkeyElizabeth Helen “Betsy” Markey is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
,
Jared PolisJared Schutz Polis is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, and
John SalazarJohn Tony Salazar is the former Congressman for , serving from 2005 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Following his service in Congress, he was appointed as Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture in the Cabinet of Governor John Hickenlooper in 2011.-Early life,...
of the Colorado congressional delegation.
On August 10, 2010, Bennet defeated Romanoff in the
primaryA primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
and won his party's nomination, facing Republican candidate
Ken BuckKenneth R. "Ken" Buck is the District Attorney for Weld County, Colorado, and was the unsuccessful Republican challenger to Michael Bennet in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Colorado.-Early life and education:...
. The campaign became one of the most expensive in the country, with the candidates spending a reported $15 million combined, and outside groups another $30 million. Bennet portrayed Buck as an extremist conservative opposed to
abortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and
direct electionDirect election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...
of Senators, while Buck and the groups supporting him characterized Bennet as a big-spending liberal.
On November 3, the day after polls closed, Bennet was declared the winner, and Buck conceded. Bennet returned to Washington in January 2011 to start a full six-year term.
Committee assignments
Bennet sits on the following committees and subcommittees in the
112th United States CongressThe One Hundred Twelfth United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and will end on January...
(2011–2012).
- Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
The Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legislation relating to nutrition and...
- Commodities, Markets, Trade and Risk Management
- Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources (Chairman)
- Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Food and Agricultural Research
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to: banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes,...
- Housing, Transportation, and Community Development
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Securities, Insurance, and Investment
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Security and International Trade and Finance
The Senate Banking Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance is one of five subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.-Jurisdiction:...
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions generally considers matters relating to health, education, labor, and pensions...
- Children and Families
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:The Subcommittee's jurisdiction includes Head Start, the Family Medical Leave Act, child care and child support, and other issues involving children, youth,...
- Employment and Workplace Safety
The Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:...
- Special Committee on Aging
The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging was initially established in 1961 as a temporary committee; it became a permanent Senate committee in 1977...
Source:
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Healthcare reform
Bennet voted in support of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
signed by President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on March 23, 2010. In November 2009, when the bill was still working its way through Congress, Bennet stated, during a
CNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
interview, that he would support
health careHealth care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
reform even if it meant losing the election. In his speeches on the floor, Bennet emphasized reports by the non-partisan
Congressional Budget OfficeThe Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
to argue that a vote for health care reform is fiscally responsible.
Immigration
Bennet has been a strong supporter of
immigration reformImmigration reform is a term used in political discussion regarding changes to current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, "reform " means to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses....
. In September 2009, Bennet cosponsored the
DREAM ActThe DREAM Act is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001 and most recently reintroduced there on May 11, 2011....
(S. 729), which proposed amending the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of vastly changed the immigration laws of the United States.This act states that if an immigrant has been unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days but less than 365 days...
by giving residency to aliens enrolled in higher education programs or serving in the military. Bennet has also stated that the country is in need of comprehensive immigration reform and that even bills like DREAM will not be adequate to solve US immigration problems.
Fiscal policy
In February 2009, Bennet voted for the
$787 billion stimulus packageThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
. In August 2009, Bennet sponsored a bill which placed spending caps on the federal government. Bennet is also a cosponsor, and outspoken supporter of the Pay-As-You-Go (
PAYGOPAYGO is the practice in the United States of financing expenditures with funds that are currently available rather than borrowed.-Budgeting:The PAYGO compels new spending or tax changes not to add to the federal deficit. Not to be confused with pay-as-you-go financing, which is when a government...
, S.1600) Act, which would require Congressional proposals which requires spending to state in detail where the funds come from. Bennet has also been a strong supporter of financial regulatory reform, stating that he believes such reform is necessary to America’s future economic well-being, and that the proposed legislation recently unveiled by Senator Chris Dodd’s Banking Committee (of which Bennet is also a member) is a “strong start”.
Alternative energy
In December 2009, Bennet cosigned a letter to Obama and Senate majority leader
Harry ReidHarry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
urging them to consider supporting the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act (S.2755). The letter, signed by the bill’s sponsor and cosponsors, explained that this bill could create as many as 10,000 new jobs. The letter further stated concern that China and other countries are passing the US in production of
alternative energyAlternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
, and that this bill would provide an opportunity to reduce that trend.
External links
- United States Senator Michael F. Bennet official U.S. Senate site
- Michael Bennett for U.S. Senator official campaign site
- Collected news and commentary at The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
- Michael Bennet's big gambles - Denver Public Schools, North Denver News
The North Denver News is a monthly community newspaper that reaches 35,000 readers in the Denver neighborhoods of West Highland, Highland, Berkeley, Sloan's Lake, Sunnyside and Jefferson Park in north Denver....
, November 2, 2007