Former U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman gave a talk titled, “The Breakdown in Congressional Governing Norms, and Impediments to Serving the Public Interest” on the WNMU campus of on Friday, March 31. The presentation was based on his book “Breakdown: Lessons for a Congress in Crisis,” published in 2022, and was sponsored by WNMU in conjunction with the 2023 New Mexico History Conference in Silver City. The evening opened with introductions by WNMU President Joe Shepard and History Professor Scott Fritz and concluded with a question-and-answer session and book signing.
Bingaman, who grew up in Silver City, was elected to the Senate in 1982. During his time as a Senator, he served on the Finance Committee, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Joint Economic Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which he chaired at the time of his retirement from the Senate in 2013.
In his presentation, Bingaman summarized the ways that Congress has changed for the worse during and since the time he served. Beginning under the leadership of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, he said, there was a “breakdown in governing norms.” Over the next two decades, Congress shut down the government, threatened to default on the debt, abused the filibuster, and refused to consider a Supreme Court nominee. During this time, Congress became increasingly polarized, indicated Bingaman, and partisanship is now an obstacle to the kind of deliberation needed to effectively legislate.
Bingaman concluded his talk by offering some ways that we can move beyond the inertia that the dysfunction in governing norms has caused. “Congress, at some point, needs to pass legislation giving the president and the secretary of the treasury authority to go ahead and increase the debt ceiling unless Congress objects,” Bingaman said, “It is crazy for the greatest democracy on the face of the earth to have to shut down every time there is a disagreement between the President and Congress.” He also believes the Senate should change its rules to eliminate the filibuster and to require a Senate vote on Supreme Court nominees.
Bingaman’s talk was timely and relevant, said Fritz, who helped organize this year’s New Mexico History Conference alongside former Silver City Museum Director Susan Berry and the conference planning committee. “The model he provided of what has gone wrong and how it can be fixed could be applied to today’s political climate in Washington, DC,” he said. Fritz also appreciated Bingaman’s take on compromise, a moderate approach that reflects a distinctly New Mexican perspective. In a state as culturally diverse as New Mexico, Fritz noted, “You can’t just go into government and demand your own way. You have to compromise.”
Caption: Former Senator Jeff Bingaman gave a talk based on his recent book at WNMU on March 31. Bingaman was introduced by WNMU President Joe Shepard and Professor of History Scott Fritz.