Michael Bennet

Michael Bennet

Template:TOCnestleft Michael F. Bennet is a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing Colorado.

Bennet served as the Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools before running for the U.S. Senate. He has also been Chief of Staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Managing Director at the Anschutz Investment Company, and Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice during the Clinton Administration.

Michael earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from Wesleyan University and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The Yale Law Journal.

In 1997, Bennet married Susan Daggett, a successful natural resources lawyer. Michael and Susan are the parents of three daughters: Caroline, Halina, and Anne.

Supported by Council for a Livable World

The Council for a Livable World, founded in 1962 by long-time socialist activist and alleged Soviet agent, Leo Szilard, is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to "reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security", primarily through supporting progressive, congressional candidates who support their policies. The Council is supporting Michael Bennet in his 2010 election campaign.

The Council wrote of Bennet;

Born in 1964 in New Delhi, India, Bennet earned his bachelor’s degree fromWesleyan University and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of The Yale Law Journal. He practiced law, worked in the Clinton Justice Department, managed an investment company, served as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s chief of staff, and then accepted the challenge of improving Denver’s failing school system.

For many years, Bennet has had a strong commitment to national security issues. He supports President Obama’s efforts to negotiate a new treaty with Russia for reciprocal deep cuts in nuclear arsenals as well as ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He supports the President’s goal of securing and retrieving nuclear weapons-usable materials worldwide and the Kissinger-Schultz-Nunn-Perry vision of moving toward a world free of nuclear weapons.

He also supports the Obama plan for ending the war in Iraq and opposes deployment of missile defense at this time. Because Colorado has endured the toxic legacy of its Rocky Mountain arsenal, which once built deadly nerve gas weapons, he understands the dire consequences of some of our country’s weapons policies.

Obama for America, National Co-Chair

February 22, 2012, Obama for America, announced the selection of the campaign’s National Co-Chairs, a diverse group of leaders from around the country committed to re-electing President Obama. The co-chairs will serve as ambassadors for the President, advise the campaign on key issues, and help engage and mobilize voters in all 50 states.

Senator Michael Bennet – U.S. Senator from Colorado, was on the list.

Honduras letter

On Thursday, May 23, 2013, U.S. Senator Cardin (D-MD) circulated a Senate sign-on "Dear Colleague" letter to Secretary of State John Kerry addressing deepening concerns about Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Honduras.

The letter states that violence and impunity for state security forces in Honduras has reached intolerable levels and cites concerns related to extrajudicial killings, linkages to death squads, and increasing militarization of civilian law enforcement. The letter also raises the concern that State Department certifications intended to ensure that U.S. foreign aid supports the rule of law in Honduras may contradict the reality on the ground.

The letter asks State Department to:

• provide Congress with a detailed assessment of the efficacy of current Honduran government efforts to address this issue as mandated by FY12 Appropriations language;
• conduct a detailed review of specific State Department actions to help ensure that no U.S. funds are being used to support police implicated in human rights violations; and
• make every reasonable effort to help ensure that Honduras' upcoming November 2013 elections are free, fair and peaceful.

In addition to Cardin, the letter was cosigned by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Udall (D-CO), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

Committees

• Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

• Financial Institutions subcommittee
• Security and International Trade and Finance subcommittee
• Securities, Insurance and Investment

• Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
• Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

• Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit subcommittee
• Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms subcommittee
• Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology subcommittee

• Senate Special Committee on Aging

External links

• Bennet's website with the Senate

References

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