2004, Bodman was nominated to replace Spencer Abraham as the United States Secretary of Energy and was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on January 31, 2005, taking office the next day. He led the Department of Energy with a budget in excess of $23 billion and over 100,000 federal and contractor employees. In February 2007, Bodman testified before the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces about security problems at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He stated that "The heart of the problem is a cultural issue at Los Alamos". He asserted that the impediment to improved security was "Arrogance. Arrogance of the chemists and physicists and engineers who work at Los Alamos and think they’re above it all". Personal life Bodman married M. Diane (Petrella) Barber in 1997. He had three children, two stepchildren, and eight grandchildren. Bodman died in El Paso on September 7, 2018, at the age of 79. The cause of death was reported to be complications from primary progressive aphasia. His death was announced by former President George W. Bush on the same day. Notes External links General Samuel Bodman's political donations Articles by Samuel Bodman World Energy Magazine - Meeting the Need for Affordable and Reliable Electricity World Energy Magazine - The New Energy Bill: Fueling America's Energy Security World Energy Magazine - The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership: A Roadmap to Energy Security World Energy Magazine - Mutual Needs Fuel Cooperative Efforts Between the United States and Africa |- |- |- 1938 births 2018 deaths 21st-century American politicians American chemical engineers American chief executives American chief operating officers Businesspeople from Chicago Cornell University College of Engineering alumni DuPont people George W. Bush administration cabinet members Illinois Republicans MIT School of Engineering alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Deaths from dementia in Texas Deaths from primary progressive aphasia Politicians from Chicago United States Deputy Secretaries of Commerce United States Deputy Secretaries of the Treasury United States Secretaries of Energy Writers from Chicago