Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) was elected the new chair of the Alliance to Save Energy, succeeding Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who served as chair for nine years and remains on the Alliance board as a congressional vice chair.

First elected to the Senate in 1992, Senator Dorgan is the third ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Chair of the Democratic Policy Committee. Senator Dorgan is also on the Commerce Committee and the Appropriations Committee and its Interior and Related Agencies subcommittee, which have jurisdiction over fuel economy standards and the Department of Energy's efficiency spending, respectively.

In leading the Alliance, he joins Alliance Co-chair Dean T. Langford who recently retired as CEO of Osram Sylvania.

"In the style of the Alliance's founder, Senator Charles Percy, Senator Dorgan can work well across the Alliance spectrum of business, consumer, environmental, and government officials. He is popular in his home state, where he is known for his abilities to lead and work with broad and varied interests," says Alliance President David M. Nemtzow.

The longest serving chair to date, Senator Bingaman joins other distinguished past chairs Senators Charles Percy (R-Ill.), the late John Heinz (R-Penn.), Daniel Evans (R-Wash.), and Tim Wirth (D-Colo.). In his nine-year tenure as chair, Senator Bingaman guided the Alliance through a dramatic growth spurt, expanding Alliance activities domestically and internationally to five continents.

"The Alliance thanks Senator Bingaman for his leadership and his unrelenting commitment to improving the nation's energy efficiency and to creating a balanced energy policy. We look forward to working with Senator Dorgan for many years to come," Nemtzow says.