Contact Senator J. Bennett Johnston
Senator J. Bennett Johnston’s political career spanned 32 years, including eight years in the Louisiana Legislature and 24 years in the United States Senate.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources from its creation and as its Chairman and Ranking Member for much of his time in office, Johnston was either directly or indirectly responsible for all energy legislation considered by the Congress between 1973 and 1996. He was a senior member of the Appropriations Committee where he served for twenty years as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy & Water Development and on the Senate Budget Committee since its inception. Following his Senate retirement in 1996, Senator Johnston formed Johnston & Associates LLC, a professional government relations consulting firm. Johnston serves on the Board of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. and the Asia Universal Bank. He also served on the Boards of Chevron Corporation, URS Corporation and Columbia Energy Group.
Senator Johnston chairs the Advisory Committee of the MIT Future of the Electric Grid Study, is a member of the MIT Natural Gas Advisory Committee and participates in the Brookings Energy Security Roundtable. In October 2009, Johnston traveled to Beijing to participate in a Strategic Forum for a US – China Clean Energy Partnership. He also served as the Co-Chairman of the National Parks Second Century Commission that conducted a comprehensive examination of the state of the National Park System today and composed a report to chart a vision for the future.
Bennett and Mary Johnston live in McLean, Virginia. They have four adult children and ten grandchildren.
