About | U.S. Senator Michael Bennet

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Life Before the Senate

Served as Superintendent

Before his appointment to the Senate in 2009 and election to a full six-year term in 2010, Michael served as Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, where he led a bold and inclusive reform effort that improved student achievement, helped turn around failing schools, and brought a halt to a seemingly endless cycle of annual budget cuts.

Before serving at the Denver Public Schools, Michael was widely credited with balancing the budget and spearheading reforms as Chief of Staff to then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. In that role, he also pushed through reforms that made city government more responsive to the greater Denver community.

Education & Family

Michael also has experience in the private sector as Managing Director at the Anschutz Investment Company, where he managed the successful restructuring of more than $3 billion in corporate debt.

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.

Michael and his wife Susan Daggett, a natural resources lawyer, are the parents of three daughters: Caroline, Halina, and Anne.

Results for Colorado

Billion in Federal Gants Secured

Bills Introduced

Years in the Senate

Senate Committees

Years of Serving Colorado

Michael has emerged as an effective leader with a proven record of bringing people together to deliver results for Colorado working families.

Bipartisan Results

He was a member of the bipartisan “Gang of 8” — four Democrats and four Republicans — that introduced and passed a bill through the Senate to fix our broken immigration system. He continues to work with bipartisan colleagues to secure common sense immigration reforms to boost the economy, strengthen our national security, and provide a fair path to citizenship for millions undocumented immigrants.

A former businessman, Michael has led the fight in Washington to create jobs, support working and middle-class families and grow our economy. And as father and a former school superintendent, Michael believes we must meet the promise each generation has made to the next: to leave more opportunity, not less, to our kids and grandkids.

In 2021, Michael passed his expanded Child Tax Credit, which helped cut childhood poverty almost in half, reduced childhood hunger by a third, and kept millions of Americans out of poverty for a year. Michael also helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act which made crucial investments to confront climate change and make health care more affordable, while reducing the deficit and making the richest corporations finally pay their fair share in taxes.

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Protecting Our Way Of Life

To protect our Western way of life, Michael has been a champion for Colorado’s public lands and working lands in the Senate. Michael worked for over a decade with Colorado communities to write and introduce the Colorado Outdoor Recreation & Economy (CORE) Act to protect 400,000 acres of public land in Colorado and grow outdoor recreation opportunities. Michael led the efforts to establish Amache, a Japanese American incarceration facility during WWII as part of the National Park System, and Camp Hale, a WWII Army training site, and the surrounding Tenmile Range as a National MonumentInvaluable parts of Colorado’s and our country’s history, these protected sites will allow future generations to learn the history of our nation.

As Colorado’s U.S. Senator, Michael has fought to invest in clean energy to create jobs and help break our reliance on overseas oil, to uphold our commitment to Colorado’s veterans and military families, and to preserve Colorado’s rich agricultural tradition underpinned by our family farmers and ranchers.

In The Senate

Michael is a member of the Senate Committees on Finance; Intelligence; Rules; and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Senate Committee on Finance

The Senate Committee on Finance is one of the most established and influential committees in the Senate. Its jurisdiction touches every piece of Colorado’s economy, from tax reform to health care to trade. These programs and policies constitute more than half of the federal budget and all of the federal revenue. Michael is a member of the following subcommittees:

Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight (Chair)

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence oversees the intelligence activities and programs of the U.S. government. The Committee provides vigilant oversight to assure that those activities conform to the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, the administration of congressional buildings, and overseeing the credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for contested elections.

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

The Senate Committee on Agriculture has jurisdiction over federal farm policy, including agriculture commodities, marketing, inspection and trade, farm credit and protection, and rural revitalization. Michael is a member of the following subcommittees:

Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources (Chair)
Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy
Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research

Congressional Caucuses

Michael is a member of the following caucuses:

Assisting Caregivers Today Caucus, Co-Chair
Olympic and Paralympic Caucus, Co-Chair
Outdoor Recreation Caucus
Aerospace Caucus
Army Caucus
India Caucus
American Defense Communities Caucus
Broadband Caucus
Cybersecurity Caucus
Ocean Caucus
Sportsmen’s Caucus
Human Trafficking Caucus
Impact Aid Caucus
Military Families Caregivers Caucus
Foreign Service Caucus
Hispanic Task Force

FDA Reform

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Dec 1, 2009

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT