[Senate Document 110-23]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



 
110th Congress, 2nd Session ------------------- Senate Document 110-23

                   TRIBUTES TO HON. PETE V. DOMENICI


                                           

                                  Pete V. Domenici

                      U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO

                                TRIBUTES

                           IN THE CONGRESS OF

                           THE UNITED STATES



                                           






                                      Tributes

                                Delivered in Congress

                                  Pete V. Domenici

                                United States Senator

                                      1973-2009










                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                               WASHINGTON : 2010








                            Compiled under the direction

                                       of the

                             Joint Committee on Printing










                                      CONTENTS
             Biography.............................................
                                                                      v
             Farewell to the Senate................................
                                                                     ix
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Akaka, Daniel K., of Hawaii....................
                                                                     10
                    Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
                                                                  4, 57
                    Allard, Wayne, of Colorado.....................
                                                                  4, 43
                    Bennett, Robert F., of Utah....................
                                                                     19
                    Bingaman, Jeff, of New Mexico..................
                                                                      9
                    Bond, Christopher S., of Missouri..............
                                                                     38
                    Brownback, Sam, of Kansas......................
                                                                      3
                    Bunning, Jim, of Kentucky......................
                                                                      8
                    Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
                                                                     57
                    Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
                                                                     25
                    Coleman, Norm, of Minnesota....................
                                                                     45
                    Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
                                                                     49
                    Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
                                                                     41
                    Corker, Bob, of Tennessee......................
                                                                     40
                    Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
                                                                  4, 34
                    Dole, Elizabeth, of North Carolina.............
                                                                      7
                    Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico 
                     ..................
                                               3, 7, 20, 22, 25, 30, 34
                    Dorgan, Byron L., of North Dakota..............
                                                                     57
                    Durbin, Richard, of Illinois...................
                                                                     37
                    Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
                                                                     54
                    Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
                                                                      7
                    Hagel, Chuck, of Nebraska......................
                                                                     43
                    Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
                                                                     12
                    Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
                                                                     13
                    Inouye, Daniel K., of Hawaii...................
                                                                     48
                    Kennedy, Edward M., of Massachusetts...........
                                                                     11
                    Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
                                                                 32, 44
                    Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana................
                                                                 18, 24
                    Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
                                                                     58
                    Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
                                                                     44
                    Lieberman, Joseph I., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     24
                    Lugar, Richard G., of Indiana..................
                                                                     51
                    McCaskill, Claire, of Missouri.................
                                                                      3
                    McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
                                                                     14
                    Murkowski, Lisa, of Alaska.....................
                                                                     47
                    Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                     42
                    Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
                                                                     26
                    Salazar, Ken, of Colorado......................
                                                                  6, 20
                    Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
                                                                      3
                    Snowe, Olympia J., of Maine....................
                                                                     59
                    Specter, Arlen, of Pennsylvania................
                                                                     53
                    Warner, John, of Virginia 
                     ...............................................
                     ......
                                                             20, 22, 39
                    ...............................................

                                      BIOGRAPHY

               The longest serving U.S. Senator in New Mexico history, 
             U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici is a respected leader on 
             some of the most important issues of our time, such as 
             strengthening our energy security, curbing nuclear 
             proliferation, and promoting fiscal responsibility in the 
             Federal budget.
               A child of Italian immigrants, Pete Domenici was born 
             and raised in Albuquerque. In 1954 he earned an education 
             degree from the University of New Mexico. After 
             graduating, Pete pitched for the Albuquerque Dukes--a farm 
             club for the old Brooklyn Dodgers. He left baseball to 
             become a math teacher at Garfield Junior High in 
             Albuquerque in 1955. In 1958 he earned his law degree from 
             the University of Denver and returned to Albuquerque to 
             enter private practice.
               In the mid-1960s he was elected to the Albuquerque City 
             Commission and served as chairman, the city's equivalent 
             to mayor. Pete Domenici was first elected to the U.S. 
             Senate in 1972 and served six 6-year terms.
               Pete Domenici was the ranking member of the Senate 
             Energy and Natural Resources Committee, having served as 
             its chairman following a long tenure in charge of the 
             Senate Budget Committee. Senator Domenici served on the 
             Budget Committee, as well as the Senate Appropriations 
             Committee, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental 
             Affairs Committee, and the Senate Indian Affairs 
             Committee.
               When he became chairman of the Energy and Natural 
             Resources Committee in 2003 Senator Domenici put his years 
             of legislative experience to work to craft the first major 
             comprehensive energy bill since 1992. Many thought that 
             the task was nearly impossible, but Senator Domenici 
             gained bipartisan consensus and passage of the Energy 
             Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct).
               This new energy law created incentives to accelerate 
             U.S. development of its own energy resources, including 
             solar, wind, and geothermal sources that are clean and 
             renewable. The law helped to strengthen the renaissance of 
             nuclear power in the United States. EPAct invests heavily 
             in new technologies to make conventional fossil fuels 
             cleaner to use. And, in late 2006, Senator Domenici 
             engineered the enactment of a law that will open areas of 
             the Gulf of Mexico for energy exploration. This could 
             yield 1.26 billion barrels of American-owned oil and 5.8 
             trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the near future. The 
             Senator has now turned his attention toward building on 
             this legislation to help strengthen our Nation's energy 
             security by unleashing innovation in clean energy 
             technologies.
               Senator Domenici has always believed in the power of 
             science and technology to improve lives and make the world 
             safer. As a leader on the Energy and Water Appropriations 
             Subcommittee, Pete Domenici has worked to fund and equip 
             the Department of Energy's National Laboratory System--
             including Sandia and Los Alamos labs in New Mexico--to 
             ensure these world-class scientific facilities can carry 
             out their nuclear deterrent and scientific missions. 
             Senator Domenici is a major proponent of nonproliferation 
             programs, such as the MOX initiative to convert U.S. and 
             Russian weapons materials into safe, usable material that 
             cannot be used in weapons.
               Senator Domenici's commitment to science and technology 
             is also exemplified in his work to make the United States 
             more competitive in the global marketplace. He is a co-
             author of bipartisan legislation to promote the American 
             Competitiveness Initiative that would force substantial 
             changes to promote science and technology education and 
             ensure that the United States does not lose its place as a 
             scientific and technological leader in the world.
               Senator Domenici has also been called the father of the 
             human genome project for his work to focus Federal 
             resources behind research to better our understanding of 
             the human DNA blueprint. He is a nationally recognized 
             advocate for people with mental illness, and has worked 
             tirelessly to build on the landmark 1996 mental health 
             parity law he wrote to obtain parity through fair 
             insurance coverage for people who suffer from mental 
             illnesses.
               As one of the longest serving members of the Senate 
             Budget Committee in Senate history, Senator Domenici has a 
             unique understanding of the Federal budget process. The 
             Senator is a longtime advocate of pro-growth policies such 
             as lower taxes and balanced budgets and was instrumental 
             in the passage of the Balanced Budget Agreement in 1997. 
             He also worked on a bipartisan basis to enact legislation 
             to force Congress to tackle the complicated task of 
             ensuring the longevity of Social Security, Medicare, and 
             other entitlement programs whose growth threatens the 
             Nation's long-term fiscal health.
               On the local level, Senator Domenici has been a leader 
             in promoting New Mexico's economy. He has worked to ensure 
             equal opportunities for women and minorities who seek to 
             own businesses, and has been an advocate for Indian 
             education and infrastructure improvements. He has, for 
             example, also fought to make sure that New Mexico receives 
             its fair share of Federal dollars through the Federal 
             appropriations process and through programs like Payment 
             in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), which reimburses rural counties 
             for lost revenue from Federal lands.
               Senator Domenici was also a leader on water issues. He 
             has been intimately involved in finding commonsense 
             solutions to address the water crisis in New Mexico and 
             the arid West, and is the leading advocate of better, 
             affordable desalination technologies. He has worked to 
             find consensus on difficult environmental issues such as 
             endangered species and bosque restoration by working to 
             protect the environment and addressing urgent water needs.
               Over a decade ago Pete Domenici introduced the Character 
             Counts Program to New Mexico. Since that time, thousands 
             of New Mexico schoolchildren have learned the six basic 
             pillars of good character: trustworthiness, respect, 
             responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Senator 
             Domenici is still heavily involved in supporting the 
             curriculum in New Mexico schools.
               Pete Domenici has been married to the former Nancy Burke 
             since 1958. They are the parents of eight children--two 
             sons and six daughters.
                               Farewell to the Senate
                            Saturday, September 27, 2008

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, first, I have to thank the 
             distinguished Republican leader for his kind remarks and 
             equally as important for his consideration of me ever 
             since he has been our leader. It has been easy for me to 
             make suggestions and to know he would listen. It has been 
             easy for me, when he has asked me to do things, to do them 
             because for the most part he has been right on his ideas, 
             he has been right on his judgment. I very much appreciate 
             his remarks here today.
               I have worked with a number of leaders, as everyone 
             knows, and they are all wonderful people. Obviously, when 
             you serve with people such as the distinguished Senator 
             Bob Dole, who was in your position, I say to my good 
             friend who just remarked on my behalf, and when you sit in 
             the same position as our good friend from Tennessee, who 
             sat there for so long, Howard Baker, you know you are in 
             good company. And I know you are in good company. But I 
             would say to them, they are in good company with you.
               Now, I am supposed to say goodbye to the Senate and that 
             is probably what I am not going to do because I do not 
             quite know how to do it. But I am going to say something 
             in my address today. It may be a little bit broken up. But 
             I do want to start by saying I want to thank my wife 
             first.
               Frankly, to be honest, she should not have let me run 
             for the Senate. After I ran for city council and became 
             mayor of Albuquerque, we already had our children. We were 
             not a moneyed family, and I guess you all could guess we 
             were pretty broke. Here I was in that condition telling 
             her that I want to run for something else. And the Lord 
             blessed me. I had a luck-out. I got a big lawsuit that 
             settled. No, it did not. It went to jury right about that 
             time and made a lot of money. I was able to at least tell 
             my wife we were not going to go broke running for the 
             Senate, although there would not be much around for us to 
             share. The case was a good one, and it made us able to go 
             on through that campaign.
               But anybody who has been from a family that is as large 
             as ours knows that for the head of the household to decide 
             to run and serve as a Senator, especially in a State like 
             New Mexico--which is not Republican at all, and which is, 
             very big--for the lady of the household to say yes, and 
             then to live with it, has not been an easy job.
               She has probably had as hard a job--a much harder job--
             than I, and she has never been anything but beautiful and 
             decent and honest and loving and caring. Obviously, she 
             did not have enough time to do all these things that I 
             have done. She did some of them. But I can say, wherever 
             any of the Members and their wives met her, they had 
             nothing but good things to say because they could not say 
             otherwise. She deserves just that.
               Let me say that these remarks about the Senate itself--I 
             say to my fellow retiree sitting here, John Warner--I 
             could do this in 20 minutes or 2 days because, obviously, 
             there is so much to talk about. The time in the Senate, 
             when you look at it day by day, was wrenching and 
             difficult at times. It was so hard; but when you look at 
             it over 36 years, it is like a storm. It blew by, and all 
             of a sudden it is 36 years later, and you are gone. Nobody 
             will experience the strange feeling it is after 36 years 
             in a place such as this to wake up of a morning and say 
             you are not going to be here anymore. I don't know what I 
             could offer the Senate to make it more pleasant for people 
             who are leaving, but for me it is time to say goodbye.
               Having said that, I wish to move on to what makes a 
             Senator succeed. I have a list of the people who have 
             worked for me in my Senate office here, or in my Senate 
             office in New Mexico, or on the Budget Committee, or on 
             the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I will say I 
             could not have done what I have done without fantastic 
             leadership from my staff. My first recommendation to 
             anybody coming here anew is don't let anybody tell you 
             that you can get by with just this person or that person. 
             You have to find people who are smart, people who are 
             gifted, people who are ambitious, and people who want to 
             serve you, the Senator, and make you achieve for your 
             constituency. I have been blessed by an abundance of them. 
             They are not all still here. They are all over the place. 
             Wherever they are, most are in high places doing 
             distinguished things.
               The whole list I wish to mention will go in the Record 
             shortly. There are three or four people who I want to 
             recommend. First, Steve Bell, who has been with me for 
             most of my 36 years--all but 8. Those 8 years he took off 
             to go to Wall Street and make his own fortune. He did 
             that. Then he came back, and I caught him one day when he 
             wasn't doing anything. I asked him if he would like to 
             work, and he wondered: Where? I said, ``How does chief of 
             staff sound?'' He didn't bother to say I have to talk to 
             my wife or anything. He said, ``I will take it.'' And he 
             has been here ever since.
               A young man named Alex Flint, as well as another young 
             man in my office--a lawyer--Ed Hild, who shepherded the 
             mental health parity bill for 10 years. There are many 
             other people. I am sorry I mentioned three, because others 
             are going to wonder why I didn't mention them. I am 
             compelled to mention two others. Bill Hoagland was the 
             director of the Budget Committee and is now known in the 
             United States as our Nation's foremost expert on the 
             budget of the United States. He has written a white paper 
             on the budget and it is incredible. Anybody who wants to 
             know the first 25-year history of the Budget Act should 
             read Bill Hoagland's white paper.
               Then there is a lady named Carol McGuire who I got from 
             one of the other appropriations Senators. He was a 
             Democrat. As he left, she came to work for me more than 25 
             years ago. I can tell you with all honesty, she became as 
             if she were a New Mexican. She knows more about her 
             adopted State, which is my State, than any living public 
             servant of any category in anyplace in New Mexico, because 
             she has served me there and that means in every district 
             she has been the principal person on appropriations 
             projects and activities.
               Clearly, there are many others and they all have my 
             greatest thanks as I ask unanimous consent to have this 
             list printed in the Record at this time. As I go through 
             and find a few more that I must put in, I think the Senate 
             will indulge me to add them.
               There being no objection, the material was ordered to be 
             printed in the Record, as follows:

               Steve Bell, Ed Hild, Alex Flint, Bill Hoagland, Chris 
             Gallegos, Charles Gentry, Carol McGuire, Angela Raish, Lee 
             Rawls, Paul Gilmon, Denise Ramonas, George Ramonas, 
             Darlene Garcia, Peggy Mallow, Lisa Breeden, Susie Cordero, 
             Ernest Vigil, Joe Trujillo, Joyce Pullen, Poe and Nancy 
             Corn, Lou Gallegos, Cheryl Rodriguez, Clay Sell, Frank 
             Macchiarola, Scott O'Malia, Maggie Murray, Davie Schiappa.

               Mr. President, now I wish to say that I looked for a 
             little bit of history about myself to see what I said when 
             I first came to the Senate. In those days you waited a few 
             months before speaking on the floor, so I will tell you 
             that I did not give a so-called maiden speech, Mr. Leader, 
             until I had been here 4 full months. I guess it was 
             because I was frightened. I thought this was such a 
             mammoth organization with such compelling things 
             happening, I didn't know where I should be or what I 
             should do. I sat in that seat over there because I was 
             99th in the Senate. Joe Biden was 100 when I came. 
             Incidentally, they parked him in my office, so there were 
             two Senators in the same office when I arrived because Joe 
             had no place to stay and they put us together. So it was 
             Domenici and Biden in the same office.
               But what I said, Mr. Leader, in my first speech--I will 
             just read one sentence, and I said this: ``Let us quit 
             this self-serving struggle and get on with the business of 
             governing.''
               Now, that was when the Senate didn't have time to 
             legislate because we were arguing about Richard Nixon. As 
             a brand-new Senator, I said those words. Now, isn't it 
             interesting that I could say those words today. I wish we 
             could quit partisan arguing and get more done. As I leave 
             the Senate, I must say there is no place like the Senate. 
             I don't think you could ever invent one. It has evolved 
             out of our Constitution and out of the rules, the 
             Jeffersonian rules that were adopted, and then the 
             evolution occurred with this body trying to meet the 
             challenges of this fantastic, great country, from its 
             infancy to the growth that it has today. Believe it or 
             not, we have passed over the years one-sentence bills that 
             were very meaningful that took a long time. We have had 
             complicated matters that probably we never thought would 
             be handled by the Senate or the House. One of those is 
             before us today.
               It is so complex for this kind of a body to legislate 
             this problem that we are having in our financial markets 
             that one wonders whether we can do it. But I do wish to 
             say that it is my feeling that we will solve the problem. 
             We will solve the financial problem which could cause the 
             ruination of our country, and it is because the Senate 
             almost always, if not always, finds somebody who will take 
             the lead. Somebody will rise up and be the leader. 
             Somebody will take the reins and run with it and others 
             will follow, and you will get done what must be done for 
             America. There is no question that it is easy to play 
             politics, even with something as profound as our financial 
             system and its potential for bankruptcy. It is easy to 
             play politics and hide when you have something before you 
             that says perhaps we are going to have a depression if we 
             don't act. But the Senate doesn't expect everybody to 
             agree.
               I want to address for a moment two things that are 
             happening in the Senate that I wish could be changed. 
             First is the filibuster--which I am a staunch advocate of 
             retaining--but I wish we could find a way to use it less. 
             The use of the filibuster so frequently is beginning to 
             distort this place. Second, when you add it with a couple 
             of other things such as the filling of the tree activity, 
             we are becoming more and more like the House and less and 
             less like a U.S. Senate. I don't know whether we can do 
             anything about that, but surely we ought to be solving 
             more problems in a bipartisan way. I think the rules of 
             our Senate are more apt to operate well if Senators could 
             work together rather than being polarized. Again, I can't 
             say anyone is wrong in doing it, because we feel very 
             strongly about the issues before us, and that is why these 
             things happen.
               I did mention, at least in passing, in these few words 
             about New Mexico and the things I was privileged to do 
             there. And, how they made me what I am by letting me do 
             for them what they needed. I do wish to mention that there 
             are great people in that State. As a matter of fact, 
             people don't know that those two giant national 
             laboratories in the State of New Mexico, the one called 
             Los Alamos and the other one at Sandia. Between the two of 
             them, they provide more PhDs and advanced degrees in 
             science, math, and physics to that part of the United 
             States than any other part of the country. It is rather 
             phenomenal what they do and what they contribute. To be 
             part of them has caused me to become somewhat of an expert 
             in nuclear power, and I am proud to tell my colleagues 
             that nuclear power is in a renaissance posture. I take a 
             little bit of credit for it because I spent 10 years 
             working on it, and finally, it came forward. We are going 
             to have nuclear power. It will take awhile, because it 
             takes about 4 years to clear the permits, but they are 
             coming forward four at a time, four permits at a time. 
             There are about 26 of them, 1,000-megawatt units pending 
             before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Our 
             distinguished leader mentioned one, because one had to 
             start it off, but we have many more now than one. Those 
             nuclear powerplants will begin to help America achieve 
             what we have always been best at: We will achieve with 
             large operating machines that are perfectly safe; we will 
             achieve without any carbon dioxide to bother the outer 
             limits where we are worrying about climate change. They 
             have no emissions that have anything to do with that. What 
             a big achievement for us. I am proud to have had something 
             to do with that.
               There are many more things that are kind of matched 
             between New Mexicans telling me about them and my getting 
             to work on them up here. Because of my scientists and the 
             expertise in nuclear matters, I was encouraged after the 
             two balanced budgets that I was privileged to put forth 
             and manage--we did have two of them, John, even though we 
             look back and wonder when was it and will it ever come 
             again, we had two in a row. I was chairman of the Budget 
             Committee. After that, my staff said, ``What is next, 
             Senator?'' I said, ``I don't know. We have to dream it 
             up.'' We have already balanced the budget and we all came 
             up with let's work on nuclear power, and we did. That is 
             how it happened. One thing followed another. One 
             accomplishment begged out and asked for another. That was, 
             indeed, exciting. Many other things have happened in the 
             field of energy, in the field of nonproliferation.
               I remember going to Russia when we finalized an 
             agreement with the Russians. President Clinton invited me 
             because I was the one who led the cause here to buy the 
             remnants of 20,000 missiles that had been taken apart in 
             Russia and they had highly enriched uranium in abundance. 
             We bought it. It was my proposal: $350 million. The lights 
             in the leader's home and in people's homes today--10 
             percent of all of the lights in America are being lit by 
             that highly enriched uranium that is still flowing from 
             that agreement, which is about 14 years old. Now we are 
             going to enter into new agreements to use that material 
             that comes out of those nuclear rockets; 20,000 is what 
             was dismantled for what we bought, but there is much more 
             there, and that is always dangerous for America and for 
             the world. So somebody will need to fill this vacuum and 
             work hard at it. I heard the Presidential candidates 
             speaking of it. I am not quite sure that either of them 
             has been involved enough to know what is going on, but I 
             wish whichever one of them wins well in that regard, 
             because that is important. The nonproliferation of nuclear 
             materials is drastically important.
               Now, I don't know whether I am going to be around here. 
             My wife Nancy and I haven't decided whether we are going 
             to live here or in New Mexico. If we live here, I won't be 
             bugging anybody or bothering anybody, but maybe some of 
             you might bother me. Who knows, I might have a cause that 
             brings me to talk to you once in awhile. But leaving will 
             be difficult for me. You all already know me. I don't take 
             things lightly. I get so worked up about this issue of the 
             possible financial problems of our country. I feel so 
             personal about it. But, you must take care of it after I 
             leave. After a day of debating and arguing, I feel so 
             uptight about the fact that we didn't do something, that I 
             don't know how we can continue day after day, especially 
             the leader, waiting for these things to materialize.
               I want it done yesterday when I see a problem as big as 
             the one we have in terms of our financial system. The 
             first day I find out all about it, I want to sit down and 
             finish it, Leader. I guess you have sensed that, have you 
             not? I bother you a lot asking what is going on, when are 
             we going to do this, when are we going to do that.
               If I don't have any of that around, I don't know what 
             exactly I will do or what kind of a person I may become. 
             Maybe I will just fade away. I hope not and I doubt it.
               What I have learned in the Senate I wish every Senator 
             would learn, every Republican Senator, just speaking to my 
             own party, I learned that the best way to solve a big 
             problem is to do it in a bipartisan manner.
               That puts me looking over my left shoulder and seeing 
             Senator Bingaman. He is a Democrat. He has not been here 
             as long. Almost as long. The way he is going, he is 
             probably going to pass my 36 years. Although every time I 
             tell him that, he nods no. I don't see what he is going to 
             do if he isn't in the Senate. He is so involved. He loves 
             it.
               I do wish to say something about the most successful 
             piece of legislation in 36 years. I did budgets, but they 
             are not legislated. I did reconciliation bills, which I am 
             going to talk about in a moment as my closing remarks. But 
             when it came to doing a major energy bill, we failed until 
             I made up my mind that I would not do it unless I did it 
             in a bipartisan manner.
               I went to my fellow Senator, Senator Bingaman, and I 
             said, ``Are you willing to give it a try? We will do it in 
             a bipartisan manner.'' I was chairman for 3 years. And he 
             said, ``It will be great.'' I can tell you that the last 2 
             years were the best years of legislating here that I have 
             had, and I think he would say the same. He recalls he 
             pushed me, and he knows I pushed him. That means I took 
             him as far as I could, and when I got to a certain place, 
             I said, ``I better agree with him, he doesn't want to do 
             this, because he is apt to quit, he is at the end of the 
             rope.'' I don't know how many times he did that to me, but 
             that is how you do it. You have to push and push, and then 
             you have to give. That was a very exciting thing and a 
             lesson for all of us.
               There are too many people who don't know what is in that 
             bill and they talk about it. But that bill is the reason 
             why we are going to have a rebirth of nuclear power. It is 
             the reason we are moving ahead as rapidly as we are in 
             solar energy and wind energy, no question about it. It is 
             a bill that set the ground rules for improving the 
             national grid for electricity so we might have a day soon 
             when we can say the national grid will not break again. It 
             will continue unabated. No matter what you do to it, you 
             will not knock the whole thing offline. Those are the 
             kinds of things that are in this bill, and much more, on 
             conservation and a host of other issues.
               We did that bill in 2 years because we walked hand in 
             hand, Republican and Democrat. He had to, as it goes, 
             because I was chairman, take a lot less notoriety in New 
             Mexico than I got. I never heard him complain a bit. He 
             should have probably told me every now and then, ``Why 
             don't you shut up for a week and let me talk about the 
             bill so New Mexicans will know I am working too.'' But he 
             didn't do that. When we finally finished, the President of 
             the United States made sure he got his credit because 
             Senator Bingaman went for the signing of that bill. The 
             reason he got so much credit is because I put on a pair of 
             glasses to hide from the Sun. They were so big and bulky 
             that people didn't know who I was. They surely knew who he 
             was because he was clear and lucid and I had these glasses 
             hiding me. So he got his just due.
               My last comments have something to do internally to the 
             Senate that I have achieved with the help of some mighty 
             fine people, with Steve Bell and Bill Hoagland as leaders.
               We passed a bill in 1974 called the Budget Impoundment 
             Act of the United States. That was done for two reasons. 
             One, President Richard Nixon got involved a little too 
             much in impounding as a means of cutting budgets. So he 
             would impound ongoing projects, such as a water project, I 
             say to David sitting there.
               I should comment that without David Schiappa and all his 
             staff, we cannot make it. This place needs the young, 
             smart, dedicated, and honest.
               Here is what happened in that law. That law was passed, 
             and it was bragged about that Senator Robert Byrd joined 
             with those who put it together, and it will run and 
             operate exactly as it was written, and there are no 
             loopholes in that bill. Maybe there were not and maybe 
             there were, but early on, we found you could not get 
             anything out of the Budget Act by just adopting budget 
             resolutions because there was no way to enforce anything 
             other than points of order. So we found a little section 
             in there called reconciliation. That is a funny word. We 
             said: We are going to interpret reconciliation to mean our 
             committee can order another committee to do something and 
             how. What they are ordered to do is reconcile with the 
             budget. We soon found we could reconcile tax bills. We 
             could reconcile entitlements. We could reconcile direct 
             spending.
               Lo and behold, the committees had to do it or we would 
             do it. They said: You will never do it because you are not 
             the committee chairman; it is my committee. I said that is 
             the perfect intent of this provision. If you don't want me 
             to do it, you better do it. We never had to find out 
             whether the chairman could because they always did it.
               Why is that so important? Because reconciliation was 
             provided to make sure you could not delay matters of 
             budget. It was not filibusterable, let me say. A matter in 
             that budget, anything in that Budget Act that was put 
             forth before the Senate was not subject to filibuster.
               Senator Byrd, the first or second time we used it, came 
             to the floor and said, ``That is not what we intended.'' 
             And we said, ``Well, we think it is. We had a vote. The 
             Senate said it was.''
               If you wonder why almost all the major legislation of 
             the U.S. Government has been appearing with a funny name--
             it is usually called something that says ``Budget and 
             Reconciliation Act of'' such and such a year. That is 
             generally the major piece of legislation that we passed--
             major tax changes, major Medicare changes, major Social 
             Security changes, if any. All of them will come out in 
             that form. That means every one of those bills became law 
             because of that interpretation of the Budget Act that we 
             put on it called reconciliation. That is how all the bills 
             passed.
               What does it tell you then? It tells you that a 
             filibuster doesn't work because to get the work of 
             budgeting done, you abandon filibuster. You send it to a 
             temporary ash heap--not permanently--because if you tried 
             to do it permanently, everybody would die because they 
             think the filibuster would be abolished and maybe there 
             would be a vote. But that is not what happens in the 
             Budget Act. You can read it in the act and interpret it 
             and say you cannot stop budgets indefinitely. There is no 
             reason to have a budget. If you stop the implementation 
             indefinitely, you kill the budget. Right? That is where it 
             comes from.
               I certainly took a lot more than 20 minutes, but I 
             didn't take 2 days to say goodbye and to tell you how I 
             felt about this place. But it took a long time. Some of 
             you certainly could have gone a long time ago, but out of 
             courtesy to me, you have sat here, including you, Mr. 
             Leader.
               I do hope whoever reads the Record and whoever hears me 
             today and those of you who are on the floor, at least got 
             out of this that I worked pretty hard at being a Senator. 
             I somehow got myself involved in a lot of different 
             things, and it was kind of fun that way. We got things 
             done. We didn't always make a lot of noise, although I am 
             known to make noise, if necessary. But those were not the 
             areas I was involved in.
               I wish to close with one funny story about my wife, 
             Senator Ted Kennedy, and myself. One night I was over here 
             and Senator Kennedy was over there. My wife sometimes 
             watches the television to see what we do here on the 
             floor. It was between 7 and 9 in the evening. When I talk 
             loud, you notice my face gets red. I didn't talk very loud 
             today, but you have seen plenty of times late in the 
             evening when I talk loud and my face gets red. Some people 
             say it is because you are yelling. I don't know what it 
             is. Maybe it is yelling, maybe it is just talking too 
             loud.
               I got a note. I was called to the Cloakroom, so I went 
             to the Cloakroom while Senator Kennedy held the floor. My 
             wife had written a note and said--my family nickname is 
             Bocci, not Pete: ``Bocci, you don't do any better when you 
             yell and get red in the face than when you talk low and 
             you don't get red in the face. I love you.''
               I came back. I said to Senator Kennedy, when it finally 
             got to be my turn: ``Senator Kennedy, I want you to know I 
             got a note from my wife.''
               He said, ``Oh, you mean Nancy.''
               I said, ``Yes, Nancy.''
               He said, ``What about it?''
               I said, ``She sent you a note. Really.'' So I read him 
             the note with his name in place of Bocci my name: ``Dear 
             Senator Kennedy, you don't do any better when you yell and 
             get red in the face than you do when you talk low and you 
             don't get red in the face.'' I said, ``I don't know why my 
             wife said that to you, but she did.'' My wife would almost 
             not let me in the door that night. But we made our point 
             and both of us tried from time to time to yell a little 
             less.
               I hope he is getting well or feeling better. We finished 
             a bill that I did not mention--maybe I did in passing--but 
             we did a bill together over the past 8 years, which is a 
             very important bill for the mentally ill of our country. I 
             have worked on mental illness issues for about 25 years. 
             The treatment of the mentally ill in the United States is 
             one of the most disgraceful ways of handling a social 
             problem of almost anything. We let them all out of 
             dungeons and then provide no physical facilities for them. 
             We just thought it will happen, but it didn't happen. That 
             is the worst. We acted like it wasn't a disease, even 
             though it is. In the meantime, insurance companies decided 
             not to cover it. Even if they had an insurance policy that 
             covered everything, they would cover the mentally ill 
             less. This bill says that will not happen anymore. 
             Insurance companies would not be able to do that any 
             more--the bill is called parity, which means fairness, 
             which means equality. We are going to have fairness and 
             equality of treatment by all insurance companies for the 
             mentally ill.
               Senator Kennedy was as excited about that as I was. He 
             is very sorry he couldn't be here when you helped me, Mr. 
             Leader, get that through the other day. We called him and 
             told him and sent him a letter saying we couldn't have 
             done it without him.
               That bill will cover 113 million people who will no 
             longer have the threat of having less than full coverage 
             for their mental illness, such as they do for other 
             diseases.
               That seems like it is pretty close to the end of my 
             time, my 36 years. It will soon actually be, literally, 36 
             years, but for now, I will act as if it is and say this is 
             my time to say thank you to the Senate and to all those 
             who have worked with me and with whom I have been 
             privileged to work.
               What a magnificent opportunity I have had. Coming from 
             Albuquerque, my father never went to school. He got here 
             at 13. He claimed he was lucky. He didn't have to go to 
             school because the law said if you are 13, you don't have 
             to. He didn't know education was valuable, so he was glad 
             to go to work. He didn't want me to go to law school 
             because he was quite sure I had been overeducated. But 
             when I explained it to him, he paid for everything. He 
             said, ``I want you to be a lawyer,'' which was absolutely 
             fantastic.
               It has been an honor to serve my home State of New 
             Mexico. With that, I just want to say thank you and 
             goodbye.
?

                                           

                                      TRIBUTES

                                         TO

                                  PETE V. DOMENICI
                              Proceedings in the Senate
                                                Thursday, July 24, 2008
               Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I thank my friend from 
             New Mexico [Mr. Domenici]. I know his service in this body 
             is one that every American should admire. He is a good 
             Senator for his State. He has been a warm and friendly 
             senior Senator to this very junior Senator from Missouri. 
             I appreciate his friendship very much.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I thank the Senator. I will 
             not use her time, I will use mine. It has been a pleasure 
             since I first met the Senator. I don't always remember all 
             of the new names, but the Senator has the same name as one 
             of my daughters. We have become friends. I admire the 
             Senator from Missouri too, and say I do believe she is 
             learning to be a Senator very fast. I am proud to be her 
             friend. I thank her for her kind words.
                                                Saturday, July 26, 2008
               Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I would just say what an 
             honor it has been to serve with Senator Domenici. There is 
             no more effective advocate, no more courageous Senator in 
             terms of speaking the truth about complex matters in words 
             that Americans can understand, and no stronger Senator in 
             committing to a sound economic policy than Senator 
             Domenici. We are going to miss him in this body, there is 
             no doubt about it.

               Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, I would like to first 
             thank my colleague from New Mexico and ask him a question, 
             because this will be the last year he is serving in this 
             body. He has served in it for many years, very 
             distinguished. It has been my pleasure to get to know him. 
             Senator Domenici can be irascible sometimes, but he is 
             always fair. I find he will get on both sides, depending 
             on which way he makes the call. ...

               Mr. ALLARD. I think the Senator from New Mexico, Mr. 
             Domenici, has done a fabulous job with the energy issue, 
             not just this year when it is fashionable--and this is the 
             big issue--but he has devoted his whole legislative career 
             to energy, making it available, how we can use research 
             and technology to meet the energy needs of this country. 
             He is recognized not only by me but nearly all Members of 
             this Senate for his hard work on energy. We all should 
             appreciate that work.
               I join in the chorus of those who have congratulated 
             Senator Domenici on a distinguished career. His dedication 
             to energy--I cannot think of another subject one could 
             pick up that would have more of a long-term impact on this 
             country, whether we are talking about economic security, 
             whether we are talking about military security, or whether 
             we are just talking about a secure home where one can rely 
             on utilities and everything to have a comfortable 
             lifestyle in this country. The Senator needs to be 
             recognized for that. It is a pleasure for me to do so, as 
             I have served on several committees now with him. He is 
             very articulate on this subject, and he does a great job.
                                            Tuesday, September 23, 2007
               Mr. DODD. ... Let me mention Pete Domenici. Pete is a 
             wonderful friend of mine. We are two people of opposite 
             political parties who don't agree on a lot, looking back 
             over the years we have been here together. We have taken 
             different sides of many issues. But Pete and Nancy 
             Domenici are remarkable people. He will be leaving the 
             Senate in a few days after a distinguished career. I had 
             the honor of being with Pete and Nancy in Las Cruces, NM, 
             to speak at a dinner for him at the Pete Domenici Center 
             for Public Policy, which is now going to be part of New 
             Mexico State University. I had dinner with Pete and 
             several colleagues, past and present, who have worked with 
             him over the years.
                                          Wednesday, September 24, 2008
               Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, Senator Pete Domenici, who 
             is retiring from the Senate this year after serving since 
             1972, once said to me that we don't say goodbye in the 
             Senate very well. As a matter of fact, we don't say hello 
             very well either. We have a little orientation program, 
             but we abruptly arrive and leave. We leave in the midst of 
             a lot of turmoil and discussion with very little time to 
             say goodbye. Yet in between that arrival and leaving, we 
             have very intense personal relationships. We virtually 
             live with each other. We see each other often for 
             breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We see each other more than 
             we see our families. So when there is a time for saying 
             goodbye, we look for ways to say it a little better.
               There are five Members of our body, all of them 
             Republicans, who have announced their retirement for this 
             year. While I won't be speaking at length about them here 
             today, I want to recognize their service. I will do it in 
             the traditional way in the Senate, which is to start with 
             seniority. By ``seniority,'' I mean from the time I have 
             known them. ...
               Senator Domenici from New Mexico has been here since 
             1972. That is a long time. He arrived as a young man. He 
             had been a chairman of the Albuquerque City Commission, a 
             math teacher, a baseball player. It was unusual for a 
             Republican to be elected to the Senate from New Mexico. He 
             has served with distinction all that time. He was the 
             first Republican chairman of the Budget Committee. He has 
             been a leader in a renaissance of nuclear energy in this 
             country which is so important because of its low cost and 
             because it is clean. A great many people, including 
             myself, are concerned about global warming. Well, 70 
             percent of our carbon-free electricity in the United 
             States comes from nuclear energy. Senator Domenici, more 
             than almost anyone, has been behind the revival of 
             interest in nuclear energy. He has truly been one of the 
             most consequential Senators of the last half century. ...
               I say to all five of those Senators, we will miss them. 
             We are grateful for their service. I know people must look 
             at the Senate in many different ways.
               Let me conclude by telling a story about how some 
             teachers look at it. We have a tradition in the Senate of 
             making a maiden address. It is kind of a funny name, but 
             we still call it that. We pick the subject of most 
             interest to us. My subject was to put the teaching of U.S. 
             history and civics back in its proper place in the school 
             curriculum so our children would grow up learning what it 
             means to be an American. There is not too much the Federal 
             Government can do about that, but what we were able to do 
             is to begin summer academies for outstanding teachers and 
             students of American history. One group of those teachers 
             was here in July, one from each State. I brought them on 
             the Senate floor early one morning. I took them to Daniel 
             Webster's desk, which is occupied by the senior Senator 
             from New Hampshire right here by me. I took them back to 
             that part of the Senate where Jefferson Davis' desk is, 
             occupied by the senior Senator from Mississippi, and told 
             them the story of how the marks in the desk are because a 
             Union soldier came in during the Civil War and started 
             chopping on it with his sword. His commanding officer came 
             in and said, ``Stop that. We are here to protect the 
             Union, not to destroy it.''
               This Chamber is full of history, full of our country. 
             Anyone who stands on this floor and sees the engravings of 
             ``In God We Trust'' or ``E Pluribus Unum'' and gets a 
             sense of what has happened here has respect for it. The 
             teachers had that respect. When we got to the end of our 
             visit, one teacher said to me, I think it was the teacher 
             from Oregon, ``Senator, what would you like for us to take 
             home to our students about our visit to the Senate 
             floor?''
               I said, ``I hope you will take back that each of us 
             takes our position a lot more seriously than we take 
             ourselves. We understand we are accidents, that we are 
             very fortunate and privileged to be here, that each of us 
             reveres our country, and we respect this institution. I 
             can only speak for myself, but I think it is true of 
             Senators on both sides of the aisle that we get up every 
             day thinking first of how we can make a little 
             contribution before we go to bed at night that will help 
             the country be a little better off than it was in the 
             morning. That means serving in the Senate is a very great 
             privilege. I hope you will take that back to your 
             students. I don't know what they see on television or read 
             in the newspaper about the Senate, but that is how we feel 
             about the privilege we have to serve here.''
               To these five Senators--Warner, Domenici, Craig, Hagel, 
             and Allard--we say goodbye. They are members of our 
             family. We appreciate their service. We know they have 
             believed it has been a very great privilege to serve in 
             the Senate. For us it has been a great privilege to serve 
             with them.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I wish to make a few 
             comments about some of our departing colleagues who will 
             not be joining us for the next session of Congress. They 
             are great colleagues, people whom I have enjoyed working 
             with in my 3\1/2\ years here in the Senate. They include 
             Senator Allard from Colorado, Senator Pete Domenici from 
             New Mexico, Senator John Warner from Virginia, Senator 
             Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, and Senator Larry Craig from 
             Idaho. ...
               Pete Domenici from New Mexico, the senior Senator from 
             New Mexico, is one of the Senators here who comes from the 
             same place my family came from many generations ago.
               His constant reminding me of the beauty of the Land of 
             Enchantment and his work on behalf of securing an energy 
             future for America is second to none. We will be missing 
             him also in terms of his major contributions to the Energy 
             Committee. He also has done a lot with respect to a whole 
             host of other issues, too many to mention, but in 
             particular I want to mention his work on the mental health 
             parity initiative which would not have happened without 
             his leadership. We were successful in getting mental 
             health parity in legislation we passed in the Senate 
             yesterday, and it was in large part because of his passion 
             and willingness to work hard on a bipartisan basis to 
             bring people together to help create that achievement. ...
               I will miss my five colleagues. All of them are 
             Republicans who are departing. Many of them brought a true 
             spirit of bipartisanship and working together, which is 
             worthy of the emulation of many Members of the Senate who 
             will serve in this Chamber in the next Congress and in 
             many Congresses to come.
               I yield the floor.
                                           Thursday, September 25, 2008

               Mrs. DOLE. Madam President, let me say, first, following 
             one of my dearest friends in the Senate, I cannot tell you 
             how much I admire and respect this great man and how much 
             he will be missed in the Senate.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, I say to the Senator, 
             thank you very much, Senator Dole.

               Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I thank Senator 
             Domenici for his 36 years of service here in the Senate, 
             longer than any New Mexican in the State's history. I have 
             had the pleasure of serving with Senator Domenici on the 
             Budget Committee, where his leadership has been a 
             cornerstone of the committee's work for decades. I have 
             always appreciated his willingness to listen to and 
             accommodate different points of view through the years. I 
             also thank him for his work on biennial budgeting, 
             something I also strongly support and was proud to work on 
             with him.
               Senator Domenici's commitment to mental health parity is 
             well known and deserves special recognition. It is fitting 
             that, on the eve of Senator Domenici's retirement, the 
             Mental Health Parity Act of 2008, which he worked on with 
             Senators Dodd, Kennedy, and Enzi, should pass the Senate. 
             I was pleased to co-sponsor this bill and look forward to 
             it being enacted.
               Finally, I thank Senator Domenici for his vote in 
             support of the McCain-Feingold legislation when it passed 
             the Senate in 2002. It was his support, along with 59 
             other Senators, that gave us that victory after a long 
             fight to ban soft money. I will always remember and 
             appreciate his support, and I wish him all the best as he 
             retires from the Senate.

               Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute 
             to a great U.S. Senator and friend, Senator Pete Domenici. 
             His tireless work as New Mexico's longest serving Senator 
             in history has greatly benefited the people of his State 
             and the United States of America. I am proud to have 
             served with such a great statesman.
               During his time in the Senate, Pete has been 
             instrumental in passing thousands of pieces of legislation 
             on many different issues. However, I got the distinct 
             honor of serving with him on the Senate Energy and Natural 
             Resources Committee, where he serves as the ranking member 
             and former chairman. Over the years, he has been 
             instrumental in passing comprehensive energy legislation 
             to help our Nation adapt to changing energy needs and 
             demands. By working side by side with Pete on the 
             committee, I have gotten to witness first hand the hard 
             work he puts into every piece of legislation that comes 
             before him. He also has the ability to reach across the 
             aisle to other Senators who routinely join him in passing 
             bipartisan bills to benefit our country. I know that I can 
             speak for all of my colleagues when I say that Pete's 
             absence will be felt by all of us.
               While I will greatly miss my friend's leadership on the 
             Senate floor and in the Energy Committee, I know that he 
             is looking forward to retirement and being able to spend 
             some much-deserved time off with his wife Nancy and their 
             family. I want to thank Pete for his contributions here in 
             the Senate and wish him and his family well as they enter 
             into a new chapter in their lives.
                                             Friday, September 26, 2008
               Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I want to take just a few 
             minutes to speak about our colleagues who have announced 
             their plans to retire at the conclusion of this 110th 
             Congress. We obviously will miss them. There are five 
             individuals about whom I wanted to say a brief word: 
             Senators Allard, Hagel, Craig, Warner, and Domenici. They 
             have all brought their intelligence, principles, and 
             perspectives on the issues confronting our Nation. The 
             Nation is better for their efforts. ...
               The most senior Senator retiring this year, of course, 
             is my colleague and friend, Senator Pete Domenici. He is 
             not only the most senior Senator retiring this year from 
             the Senate, he is also the most senior Senator New Mexico 
             has ever had. When Pete leaves the Senate this year, it 
             will be after 36 years of unstinting work doing his best 
             for his country and for our State of New Mexico.
               He will be the first to say that his success and 
             longevity here could not have been possible without two 
             important elements: his family and his staff. The love and 
             support of his wife Nancy have been invaluable. Also, from 
             the first, he has had a fine staff. It was true when he 
             came to Washington and it is certainly true today, here 
             and in New Mexico. They are skilled individuals who make 
             it their business to be helpful to the people of our 
             State.
               Senator Domenici's contributions are well known to all 
             of us. His work on the Budget Committee and the Energy and 
             Natural Resources Committee and the Appropriations 
             Committee over the years has made a lasting impact on 
             national policy. As a member of the Budget Committee, from 
             the day he was sworn in, he was either the chairman or 
             ranking member of that committee for 12 of his 36 years on 
             the committee.
               One of the things in which he takes great pride is 
             helping to get us to a balanced Federal budget twice. We 
             can all appreciate how difficult that kind of undertaking 
             is.
               Senator Domenici and I, of course, served on the Energy 
             and Natural Resources Committee together. The Senate 
             Historian has told us that as far as his office can tell, 
             it is the only instance in the history of the Senate where 
             Senators from the same State served as chairman and 
             ranking member of the same committee at the same time. 
             Obviously, I will miss that arrangement.
               New Mexicans, including me, have great affection and 
             respect for Pete Domenici. ``People for Pete'' is the 
             motto Pete has used in each of his campaigns for many 
             years. It is not just a famous campaign phrase in our 
             State--although it is seen on bumper stickers all over our 
             State whenever a campaign is underway involving Pete--but 
             it is a bit of a twist on what his career has been all 
             about; that is: Pete for the people of New Mexico. That 
             has been his commitment. He has carried through in great 
             form.
               We will miss his service to the State of New Mexico here 
             in the Senate.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I wish to make a few 
             comments about some of our departing colleagues who will 
             no longer be with us next year. I have known some of them 
             for just a little while, others I have known for a long 
             time. And, to all of them I bid a fond farewell and mahalo 
             for their service to their State and to this country. They 
             are dear colleagues and friends of mine and I know that 
             even if they leave this fine establishment, our 
             friendships will continue long into the future.
               The Senators that I am referring to are Senator John 
             Warner from Virginia, Senator Pete Domenici from New 
             Mexico, Senator Larry Craig from Idaho, Senator Chuck 
             Hagel from Nebraska, and Senator Wayne Allard from 
             Colorado. Please allow me just one moment to reflect on my 
             service with each of these valuable Members. ...
               Another good friend and colleague, the senior Senator 
             from New Mexico, Senator Pete Domenici has been serving 
             the people of his home State and this Nation for 36 years. 
             Like Senator Warner, Senator Domenici also works beyond 
             party lines to address controversial issues and the 
             concerns of stakeholders. He is truly an exemplary role 
             model for all Members of Congress.
               Senator Domenici is a man of his word and has 
             respectfully worked with Members on both sides of the 
             aisle. As a dedicated advocate he has helped encourage 
             informed debates in the Senate. He has been a passionate 
             advocate for many causes and has sought workable 
             solutions.
               I have had the distinct pleasure to serve with Senator 
             Domenici as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural 
             Resources Committee, as well as the Senate Indian Affairs 
             Committee. Senator Domenici has played an integral role in 
             overcoming difficult challenges and meeting our country's 
             energy needs. As a member of these committees I have 
             witnessed his genuine concern and commitment to improve 
             the well-being of, and increase opportunities for, 
             indigenous communities in Hawaii, across the Nation, and 
             extending to our insular areas.
               Senator Domenici has been one of the leading advocates 
             for mental health care in our country. He and Senator Paul 
             Wellstone were great partners in trying to bring about 
             mental health parity. Since Paul's death, Senator Domenici 
             has led this initiative and worked with all of us in a 
             continued effort to ensure that individuals can access 
             essential treatment.
               Senator Domenici is a statesman and a gentleman. It has 
             been a pleasure to work with him in the U.S. Senate. I am 
             going to miss Senator Domenici and I extend my warmest 
             aloha and heartfelt well wishes.

               Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I regret that I am not able 
             to be in the Senate today to pay tribute to my friend and 
             colleague, Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico.
               Throughout my years in the Senate, I have been honored 
             to serve with some of the brightest, most committed 
             elected leaders in our Nation. But Senator Domenici stands 
             out in particular. He has the unique ability to rise above 
             partisanship and find real solutions to real problems.
               He comes to every issue with a deep knowledge and desire 
             to improve the lives of the people of New Mexico and the 
             Nation. It has been a special honor to work with him for 
             nearly 36 years, including many years on mental health 
             issues. We both share a deep commitment to those issues 
             because we know the immense toll that mental illness has 
             taken on beloved members of our families, his daughter 
             Clare and my sister Rosemary.
               Pete and I are on opposite sides of the aisle in the 
             Senate, but he has never approached mental health issues 
             in a partisan way. Instead, he thinks of himself as an 
             advocate for mental health reform and basic fairness for 
             all our citizens.
               Through Pete's skillful guidance and leadership, 
             Congress has made major progress in breaking down the 
             walls of discrimination against the mentally ill, 
             especially in the judicial system and in education. On 
             reform in mental health care, it has been a long, 
             difficult battle for over a decade, but Senator Domenici's 
             will and dedication has never wavered.
               Years ago, young Pete played baseball for the 
             Albuquerque Dukes, which was part of the old Brooklyn 
             Dodgers farm system. Back in those days, disappointed 
             Dodger fans coined the phrase, ``Wait 'til next year'' 
             after coming up short of a championship season so often.
               Now, at last, because of Pete, Americans suffering from 
             mental illness may not have to ``wait 'til next year'' any 
             longer. We are now closer than ever to finally passing 
             mental health parity and putting an end to the long-
             standing shameful practice of discrimination in health 
             insurance against persons with mental illness. On this 
             issue, Senator Domenici has been absolutely relentless and 
             absolutely brilliant. We could never have made it this far 
             without him.
               My only regret is that at the signing ceremony, when 
             President Bush signs this landmark bill into law and looks 
             up and hands the signing pen to Senator Domenici, we will 
             all be sad that Pete is retiring from the Senate this 
             year. He has been a continuing source of hope and 
             inspiration to me and to millions of other people and 
             their families across the Nation. He has made a truly 
             extraordinary difference in the lives of families 
             struggling with mental illness. It has been a great honor 
             to serve with such a talented and dedicated public servant 
             as Senator Pete Domenici. I will miss him very much in the 
             years ahead.

               Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
             my very dear friend and colleague, Senator Pete Domenici. 
             Other than the members of the Utah congressional 
             delegation, Utah has had no better friend in the Senate 
             than the senior Senator from New Mexico. My State of Utah 
             is made up mostly of public lands, and we have often 
             relied on this good Senator for the support and expertise 
             of solving some of our most difficult natural resource 
             problems. Senators who understand the complexities of 
             living in a public-land dominated State are few and far 
             between, especially here in Washington. Having Senator 
             Domenici in a leadership position on the Senate Committee 
             on Energy and Natural Resource Policy has been my State's 
             salvation many times over.
               In my personal view, Senator Domenici's crowning 
             achievement was the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 
             2005. This was one of the most comprehensive and 
             bipartisan energy proposals ever passed by Congress. I 
             have no doubt that this summer's energy crisis would have 
             been dramatically worse had EPACT 2005 not been passed 
             when it was. It was a matter of dread and grave 
             disappointment for some of us in the Senate to watch as 
             the leadership of this Congress pursued efforts to turn 
             back some of the most important steps that legislation 
             took toward securing a better energy future for our 
             people. And it is fitting that before this Congress ends 
             along with Senator Domenici's Senate career, we have voted 
             to reinstate and to extend many of the provisions 
             established in EPACT 2005.
               In particular, I praise Senator Domenici for his 
             unfailing vision and leadership in working with me to 
             establish the possibility in this country of developing 
             our Nation's gigantic untapped oil shale resources. A lot 
             has been said in the media about how oil shale development 
             has not been proven yet and therefore is not likely to be 
             successful. However, what these critics fail to consider 
             is that the government has long had a policy to not 
             develop its oil shale. We should keep in mind that the 
             United States controls about 72 percent of the world's oil 
             shale and that 73 percent of our resource is on Federal 
             lands.
               Without Senator Domenici's leadership, we would not have 
             been able to pass the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Development 
             Act as part of EPACT 2005. We would not now have a large, 
             tristate environmental impact statement on oil shale, a 
             voluminous task force report on oil shale from the 
             Department of Energy, a research and development lease 
             program ongoing at the Bureau of Land Management, and the 
             soon-to-be-released final regulations on commercial oil 
             shale leasing on Federal lands. He has maintained the 
             vision of oil shale's potential benefit to our Nation's 
             future and has never relented. I will ever be grateful to 
             Senator Domenici for that.
               My friend from New Mexico is not flashy. And I mean that 
             as a high compliment. Where some Senators fight with 
             rhetoric, Senator Domenici relies on reason. Where others 
             search around for wedge issues, Senator Domenici finds 
             solutions. Where others in the Senate seek to widen the 
             aisle that divides us, Senator Domenici reaches across to 
             bring us closer. The Senate is a better place because the 
             people of New Mexico have sent us their senior Senator, 
             and we will miss his presence here. As this Congress comes 
             to a close, I say to my friend, arrivederci, ti voglio 
             bene.

               Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to speak 
             about my great friend, Senator Pete Domenici of New 
             Mexico.
               The longest serving U.S. Senator in New Mexico history, 
             Pete has been a respected leader on some of the most 
             important issues of our time, including energy security, 
             nuclear proliferation, and fiscal responsibility.
               Pete was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 and is 
             serving his sixth term.
               Pete is the ranking member of the Senate Energy and 
             Natural Resources Committee, having previously served as 
             its chairman following a long tenure in charge of the 
             Senate Budget Committee.
               When he became chairman of the Energy and Natural 
             Resources Committee in 2003, Pete put his years of 
             legislative experience to work to craft the first major 
             comprehensive energy bill since 1992.
               Many thought that the task was nearly impossible, but 
             Senator Domenici gained bipartisan consensus and passage 
             of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This new energy law 
             created incentives to accelerate U.S. development of its 
             own energy resources--including solar, wind, and nuclear 
             power.
               Then, in late 2006, Senator Domenici engineered the 
             enactment of a new law that will open areas of the Gulf of 
             Mexico for energy exploration. This could yield 1.26 
             billion barrels of American-owned oil and 5.8 trillion 
             cubic feet of natural gas in the near future.
               Senator Domenici's commitment to America's prosperity is 
             also exemplified in his work to make the United States 
             more competitive in the global marketplace. He is a co-
             author of the America Competes Act, a landmark bill that 
             will force substantial changes to promote science and 
             technology education and ensure that the United States 
             does not lose its place as the world's innovation leader.
               Senator Domenici is a nationally recognized advocate for 
             people with mental illness, having written the 1996 mental 
             health parity law to ensure fair insurance coverage for 
             people who suffer from that disease.
               Pete has also been a champion in promoting New Mexico's 
             economy. He has worked to ensure equal opportunities for 
             women and minorities. He has worked to find consensus on 
             difficult environmental issues. It has been a true honor 
             to serve with him. The Senate will truly miss his 
             leadership, and I will miss his friendship. Indeed, we 
             will miss all our departing friends. I wish them well.
                                           Saturday, September 27, 2008
               Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, few Senators have meant 
             more to this body than Pete Domenici, and few are more 
             deserving of that praise. I am honored today to say a few 
             words on the floor of the Senate about the good and humble 
             man we all know around here as ``Uncle Pete.''
               Pete is a classic American story that reminds us why 
             America is so great. His parents were Italian immigrants 
             who taught their five children the importance of faith, 
             the rewards of hard work, the blessings of a big family, 
             and an abiding love for their adopted country.
               As an only son, Pete grew up fast, working in his 
             father's wholesale grocery business, studying hard at St. 
             Mary's High School in Albuquerque, and developing a good 
             enough fastball to become a star pitcher at the University 
             of New Mexico.
               In a sign of his future success as a lawmaker, Pete put 
             together an impressive 14 to 3 record his senior year in 
             college. He was such a good pitcher, in fact, that he 
             caught the attention of some major league scouts and soon 
             earned a spot in the starting rotation of the Albuquerque 
             Dukes.
               Now, for most American boys growing up in the 1940s, 
             being a minor league pitcher would have been enough. But 
             not for the son of Alda and Cherubino Domenici. After 
             earning his JD degree at the University of Denver, Pete 
             became a lawyer. From there, he had the tools he would 
             need to go to bat for the people of New Mexico for the 
             next 5 decades.
               Elected to the Albuquerque City Commission in 1966, he 
             became chairman of Albuquerque the following year at the 
             age of 35. It was there in the shadow of the Sandia 
             Mountains that he got to know the needs and the ambitions 
             of his friends and neighbors and seemingly everyone else.
               Today there is almost no one in New Mexico--from the 
             high plains in the east, to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains 
             in the north, to the high plateaus that cover much of the 
             rest of the State--who does not offer a smile of 
             recognition at the familiar name of Pete Domenici.
               Five years after becoming mayor, the people of New 
             Mexico sent Pete to Washington. It was one of the best 
             decisions the voters of any State have ever made.
               In six terms, Pete has built a reputation for honesty 
             that is second to none. The undisputed leader on energy 
             issues in the Senate for nearly four decades, Pete saw the 
             need to secure America's energy future before it was cool, 
             even writing a book on the promise of nuclear energy.
               Thanks largely to his efforts last year, the Nuclear 
             Regulatory Commission received its first application in 29 
             years for a nuclear powerplant.
               Pete is the only American to be awarded the French 
             nuclear society's highest award. He spearheaded efforts to 
             pass the landmark Energy Policy Act of 2005, a 
             comprehensive bill that has spurred the growth of 
             renewable energy such as wind and solar and which has set 
             America on a path of increased energy efficiency.
               Pete authored the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 
             2006, a bipartisan bill that opened new areas of the gulf 
             to oil and natural gas exploration. Long before people 
             were calling on Congress to find more and use less, Pete 
             was showing us that it could be done.
               Pete's tenure on the Budget Committee earned him a well-
             deserved reputation as one of the strictest fiscal hawks 
             in Congress. As chairman or ranking member for nearly 23 
             years, he co-authored the original Budget Reform Act of 
             1974, which started the modern budget process and 
             established the Congressional Budget Office. He authored 
             the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, leading to 4 straight 
             years of surpluses.
               There is no greater friend of the disabled in this 
             country than Pete Domenici. A co-author of the Mental 
             Health Parity Act of 1996, he has fought tirelessly to 
             expand it ever since. And just this week, all that hard 
             work paid off when the Senate approved full mental health 
             parity as part of the tax extenders bill. After years of 
             patient effort, Pete's vision for expanded benefits for 
             millions of struggling Americans will--we hope--soon be 
             the law of the land.
               Pete's contributions to his home State are literally 
             legendary. He helped protect and preserve New Mexico's 
             breathtaking natural beauty by working to create nearly 1 
             million acres of wilderness throughout the State. In 
             concert with the National Park Service, he authorized the 
             Route 66 initiative to help preserve the look and feel of 
             this iconic American road.
               He has helped bring water to rural communities through 
             the water supply bill. He secured funding for the only 
             major Western dam project of the last decade. All of this 
             is just part of Pete Domenici's legacy.
               Fortunately, the people of New Mexico will be able to 
             get the whole story thanks to an effort that was recently 
             announced at New Mexico State University to study Pete's 
             impact on public policy and contributions to the State in 
             36 remarkable years of service in the Senate.
               The people of New Mexico are not the only ones who are 
             grateful for Pete's service. He may not know this, but 
             Pete has a lot of fans in Kentucky. Back in the late 
             1990s, when Kentuckians were beginning to learn the extent 
             of the environmental and health damage caused by the 
             Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Pete offered a helping 
             hand. Whether it was appropriating funds for the cleanup, 
             making sure workers were screened for lung cancer, or 
             compensating those who had been wrongfully injured, 
             Senator Domenici has been a reliable partner to me and a 
             great friend to the people of Paducah every step of the 
             way, and we are grateful for his help.
               A record such as this is not easy to achieve in the 
             Senate. It takes vision, hard work, patience, and an 
             ability to cooperate with Members on both sides of the 
             aisle. One mark of Pete's skills in working with Members 
             of both sides is the praise he has received not only from 
             local media but the national press as well. Here is what 
             the New York Times had to say about Pete in 2001:

               If Mr. Domenici sounds like a serious man, he is. A 
             colleague once described him as having a case of terminal 
             responsibility. He is not cut from the same bolt as most 
             politicians.

               Like most of us, Pete never could have done it alone. 
             And he has not. Around the same time the minor league 
             scouts noticed Pete, Pete noticed a young lady named Nancy 
             Burk. And 50 years ago this year, Pete and Nancy were 
             married. Fifty years of marriage is a remarkable 
             achievement in itself, and it is well worth noting.
               Apparently Pete and Nancy were both overachievers. Over 
             the years, they raised eight children, which, of course, 
             makes all the other accomplishments look a little less 
             challenging.
               They are a remarkable couple. They made the Senate a 
             more friendly place. And I know my wife Elaine has enjoyed 
             getting to know Nancy and working with her in the Senate 
             Spouses Group.
               The members of my staff are going to miss Uncle Pete a 
             lot as well. They will miss his frequent visits and his 
             stories about the old days and the way he lit up like a 
             child whenever he talked about his faith, his children, 
             his grandkids, and his beloved wife Nancy who, thanks to 
             Pete's bragging, is known to everyone on my staff as a 
             great cook.
               They will miss his warmth, his good cheer, and his 
             passion for the issues of the day. They will miss the same 
             things that his colleagues will miss: an honest statesman 
             and a good man who made all of us proud to be Members of 
             the same institution as him.
               Whenever Pete is reminded of all that he has done for 
             the people of New Mexico and for our country, he always 
             says the same thing: It is an honor. Now we, his 
             colleagues in the Senate, say the same thing about the 
             time we have spent working alongside this good man.
               Senator Domenici, it has been an honor.

               Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, let me take a few moments 
             to say what an absolutely outstanding privilege it has 
             been for me, for 10 of the 12 years I have served in the 
             Senate, to serve on the Energy Committee with Senator 
             Domenici.
               It is rare to see a person in public office who cares 
             equally as deeply about his family and his children and 
             his work. Sometimes families get pushed aside because of 
             the work of men and women who think the work they do is 
             somehow more important than raising their children. I have 
             experienced struggling for that balance in my own life, 
             watching my father struggle with that balance. Sitting on 
             the committee watching Senator Domenici has been an 
             inspiration to me, to watch him handle some of the biggest 
             issues of our time, truly, over 36 years. He spoke about 
             some of them--the budgets of the entire Congress, the 
             nuclear renaissance in the country, major pieces of social 
             legislation he has shepherded and nurtured and loved. But 
             in between many of these discussions I have been 
             privileged to have with him, he will stop in the middle of 
             a conversation and talk about one of his children or one 
             of his grandchildren. He is the father of eight. I am one 
             of nine and the mother of two.
               I just want to tell him, in these brief moments--and I 
             am just going to speak for 2 or 3 minutes--what an 
             inspiration he has been to me as a man who loves his wife 
             and his children and his grandchildren so deeply and has 
             managed to serve his State with such passion and grace and 
             love for 36 years. And New Mexico is not a next-door kind 
             of place. New Mexico is a long way from Washington, DC, 
             but it has never been long from the Senator's heart.
               The final thing I want to say is that, on behalf of the 
             people of my State, I want the Senator from New Mexico to 
             know we will be forever grateful for his leadership when 
             it came to passing, for us, something in the nature of the 
             Declaration of Independence. And I don't mean to belittle 
             that document, but for the people of Louisiana, who for 60 
             years have struggled to try to find some way to preserve 
             this great coast of ours and to save our communities, our 
             culture, and our economic livelihood, this Senator stepped 
             up, this Senator from New Mexico--not much water there--
             and his heart was with the people of Louisiana and the 
             gulf coast. He and his wife flew over this great expanse 
             of land, which has been under water now for quite some 
             time with these storms in the last years, and he basically 
             took the lead on establishing for us something that had 
             eluded us for 60 years--since President Truman was the 
             President of the United States. Senator Domenici changed 
             the fortunes of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama 
             by putting in a major piece of legislation that will 
             establish a way for us to secure this coast.
               So, Senator, I could speak for a long time--many more 
             hours--about what you have done, but there are other 
             Members much more senior to me and in your own party who 
             wish to speak. I just wanted to lay down for the Record 
             the comment to you--and I will submit a more formal 
             statement for the Record--that the people of Louisiana 
             whom I represent will be forever grateful for your 
             leadership.
               I yield the floor.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

               Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I am sorry to see Pete 
             Domenici leave the Senate for a variety of reasons but one 
             highly personal: He is reducing by 25 percent the number 
             of Senators now serving who served with my father. Senator 
             Byrd, Senator Kennedy, Senator Inouye, Senator Stevens, 
             and Senator Biden all served with my father, as did 
             Senator Domenici. Now he has told me that my father was 
             never quite able to pronounce his name correctly, for 
             which I apologize. I have learned how to do it so that the 
             Bennett family is relieved of that particular problem.
               This demonstrates a degree of continuity and a degree of 
             dedication to the problems related to the West because New 
             Mexico and Utah are neighboring States. We touch at one 
             tiny point. It is the only point in the United States 
             where four States come together. It is called the Four 
             Corners, where four States, in a straight divide, come and 
             touch each other. But New Mexico and Utah share many of 
             the same problems, and as I have come to the Senate with 
             the problems of the West and had to turn somewhere for a 
             mentor to help guide me through those problems, I have 
             turned to Senator Domenici. His advice has always been 
             good, his help has always been available, and he has 
             proven to be as good a friend to his western neighbors as 
             he has been to his New Mexican constituents.
               If the Senate seniority rule holds in place, I will 
             succeed him as the ranking member of the Energy and Water 
             Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations. These are 
             very big shoes to fill. In true Domenici style, instead of 
             just waving goodbye and walking out the door, he has 
             tucked me under his arm and taken me around to all of the 
             national labs to make sure that these beloved 
             institutions, which he has tended and funded and guided so 
             carefully, got introduced to me under his tutelage and so 
             that he made sure that I understood fully how important 
             they were. In very kind and subtle ways, he made it clear 
             to me that if I didn't stand up to the responsibility of 
             keeping those national treasures alive, he would haunt me 
             in one way or another. Now, I hope he does. I hope he is 
             available for years to come for advice and counsel.
               The other thing that has been referred to here, on which 
             I have been delighted to join with him, is his crusade for 
             insurance equality for the mentally disturbed. He and I 
             both have some experience with that with members of our 
             own families. We understand how important that is, and it 
             has been easy to be a foot soldier in the ranks, with Pete 
             Domenici leading the charge.
               There is a phrase that has been used and vastly overused 
             around these halls in Washington for a long time, but it 
             applies accurately to Pete Domenici. He truly has been a 
             national treasure, and we shall miss him but wish him 
             well.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Levin). The Senator from 
             Virginia.

               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, what a privilege it has been 
             for myself and many of my colleagues to sit here in the 
             presence this afternoon to not hear a goodbye to the 
             Senate, because the Senate, Senator Domenici, will always 
             look up to you. You will be the model which young men and 
             women coming to the Senate will wish to follow.
               I don't know whether anyone can do what you have done 
             throughout the Senate with greater feeling and sincerity. 
             Mr. President, when Senator Domenici greets and visits 
             with you, he always finishes that with ``I love you, 
             brother'' or ``I love you, sister.''
               God bless you and your family.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Thank you.

               Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor.

               Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, if I may, I want to give my 
             accolades to Senator Domenici, with whom I have worked on 
             the Energy Committee since I came to the Senate, and also 
             to wish him well in his days ahead. When I arrived in the 
             Senate some 3\1/2\ years ago, he was one of the people who 
             welcomed me here. He welcomed me here as the man from the 
             Land of Enchantment, la Tierra Encantada, as we say in 
             Spanish in New Mexico. He did so in large part because 
             many of my family members are from the State of New 
             Mexico. My family helped found the city of Santa Fe, the 
             city of Holy Faith, now over 400 years ago.
               During many times as I was growing up as a young man, 
             and later on in my professional life, traveling in New 
             Mexico, I would hear about the great Senator of New 
             Mexico, the great Pete Domenici. Now, for the last 4 years 
             it has been a tremendous privilege and personal honor for 
             me to be able to serve with him.
               I want to make two comments about him--first, in terms 
             of the substance of the legislation that we have worked on 
             together. We have passed three significant pieces of 
             bipartisan energy legislation with him--in 2005, the 
             Energy Policy Act of that year; again, we passed another 
             energy package in 2006; and again in 2007. In the passage 
             of those major pieces of legislation, it was Senator 
             Domenici, working closely with his good friend, Senator 
             Bingaman, who said that we could agree on things for the 
             future of this country on this signature issue that is so 
             important to our national security and to our economic 
             prosperity. He brought us together to make sure that we 
             would work on those things that we all agreed upon. That 
             is why we were able to pass those very important pieces of 
             legislation. I very much appreciate what he has done in 
             that committee.
               Second, as he and I have talked many times over the last 
             several years, there are issues that are unique to the 
             West, the issues of public lands, where much of our 
             lands--for example, in my State of Colorado, 33 percent is 
             owned by the Federal Government. It takes an understanding 
             of those realities, of issues like payment in lieu of 
             taxes, or how we deal with the mining law in the West, or 
             how we make sure that the water issues of the West are 
             protected, and how we recognize the compacts of our States 
             as being important. For all those issues he has been a 
             tremendous leader and an inspiration.
               I will miss him dearly as a friend. He has been a dear 
             friend. But I also will miss his leadership because on so 
             many issues he has worked across the aisle. I appreciate 
             his leadership as well in what he has done for mental 
             health parity for the United States of America.
               There will be not hundreds of thousands, not millions, 
             but hundreds of millions of Americans who will come to 
             benefit from his leadership on the mental health parity 
             issue. Also, the building blocks he has laid for us to try 
             to take the moon shot that will get us energy 
             independence. Those building blocks will remain in place 
             for decades and for generations to come.
               So I appreciate his leadership, and I appreciate his 
             service.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I want to thank my good 
             friend, Senator Salazar, from the State of Colorado. I 
             don't know what brought us together on our Energy 
             Committee. Maybe it was a little bit of common language--
             we both spoke a little Spanish to each other, and it made 
             us both understand and feel like we were friends. But we 
             became that, we became friends rather quickly in his short 
             4 years.
               I obviously remember your very first 6 months when we 
             became friends and worked on many issues. I compliment you 
             on your constant effort to work in a bipartisan way on 
             issues. It is tough around here. It is going to have to 
             move in that direction or we are going to continue to have 
             trouble getting things done. For that, I hope you will 
             stand your ground and at least keep trying.
               I appreciate the kind words you said in my behalf. Let's 
             hope we see each other frequently, if not in your State, 
             in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.
               Thank you very much, Senator.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia is 
             recognized.

               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, these are one of the periods 
             of our lives in the Senate we shall always remember. My 
             good friend, the Senator from New Mexico, steps down and 
             departs the floor. But you will be a Member of this 
             decisionmaking body through the next few days, which will 
             be critical when your vast experience will be brought to 
             bear, as it will.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Senator, I tell you, I said a little bit 
             in my remarks a while ago about it. I get very excited and 
             anxious because it takes too long. But that is the 
             deliberative body. But we don't have a long time to give 
             the Secretary of the Treasury the kind of authority he 
             needs to fix a broken train.
               We have had a wreck--lots of wrecks. All the freeways 
             are clogged. We have to take away the things that are 
             clogging them. We could look at it as a freeway with 
             cracked-up cars, but actually the assets that are piled up 
             there are the toxic assets that have been accumulated by 
             those banks. If you don't get them out of the way, the 
             line continues growing because of the broken-down cars, 
             the toxic assets. The running cars can run no more. They 
             are stopped in place. They contain everything that has 
             given us a decent life in America.
               We have to fix that. I am going to be here. Let's hope 
             our negotiators will put something together that the 
             executive branch tells us will work and that the world 
             accepts it with confidence. When we come off this floor, 
             when we vote that in--whatever it is, Monday or whatever--
             we will join, you and I, with great confidence that we 
             have once again done something important.

               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I was present today in our 
             group of Senators. When you spoke, you inspired them. We 
             have got to rebuild the confidence in America. That is 
             what underlies this decision. I also wish to say a few 
             words about our dear friend from Colorado. I cannot 
             altogether make these remarks without divulging I have a 
             bias. I have visited that beautiful State many times. But 
             my daughter makes her home there, together with my 
             grandson, and the Senator from Colorado allowed my 
             grandson to be an intern in his office. He served as an 
             intern briefly in my office, both without pay to the 
             taxpayers, I hasten to say, when I make these remarks.
               But he has been a great friend. We have worked together 
             on many things. He has dignity. But above all it is his 
             enthusiasm and love for this institution. There is not a 
             day when he walks on this floor, either to say to other 
             Senators or to say it quietly to himself: How fortunate I 
             am to be a Senator, to come here to represent the people 
             of Colorado, to represent the people, as each Senator 
             does, of the whole of the United States.
               So as I step down, and others, we do so with a sense of 
             confidence, behind us remain individuals like yourself and 
             indeed the distinguished presiding officer who for 30 
             years, he and I have served together on the Armed Services 
             Committee. He will remain on. The Senate will be in good 
             hands with you and our other colleagues to carry on and 
             solve the problems for this great Nation and indeed much 
             of the world.
                I yield the floor.
                        ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENT
               Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
             that the tributes to retiring Senators that appear in the 
             Congressional Record be printed as a Senate document and 
             that Senators be permitted to submit such tributes for 
             inclusion until Friday, November 21, 2008.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.
                                             Monday, September 29, 2008
               Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, while the Senator from New 
             Mexico [Mr. Domenici] is on the floor, I want to, one, 
             thank him for his characteristically lucid and honorable 
             put-the-national-interest-first statement and also to say 
             that I gather, this afternoon, colleagues will be coming 
             to the floor to pay tribute to some who are not running 
             again, as Senator Domenici is not running. I have to go to 
             Connecticut to join my family for a celebration of Rosh 
             Hashanah right after the vote, so I wish to take this 
             moment to thank Senator Domenici for his extraordinary 
             service and to say to him what an honor and a pleasure it 
             has been. Sometimes it is an honor to work with some 
             people but not a pleasure; sometimes it is a pleasure and 
             not an honor. With you, it has been both.
               You just spoke to our responsibility to our country in 
             this economic crisis, and you spoke from your inner 
             characteristically American core of optimism, that we have 
             the best financial system in the world and we have every 
             reason to be optimistic, but we are really in a crisis. To 
             me, that is the kind of service you have given our 
             country. And you are a characteristic American story 
             because your family does not go back to the Mayflower, as 
             we used to say in my family, like yours. Your family came 
             from Italy to this country, and they gave you a love for 
             this country, a confidence that if you worked hard and 
             used the abilities God gave you, there was no limit to how 
             far you could go.
               Like so many others, you have served your country with 
             extraordinary honor and effect across a wide range of 
             subject areas. I think particularly of the great work you 
             have done in trying to regularize and make orderly and 
             efficient and responsible our budget process; from that 
             kind of nuts-and-bolts dollars-and-cents to the passionate 
             advocacy you have given for equal treatment in our 
             insurance system for those who need assistance from our 
             medical system for mental illness, to treat mental illness 
             exactly as physical illness.
               So, Senator Domenici, it has been an honor to serve with 
             you. If I may get a little ethnic, which you and I usually 
             do, I would say, in leaving the Senate this year, you are 
             following in the footsteps of another great Italian-
             American hero whom I grew up admiring in a different field 
             of endeavor, Rocky Marciano. Remember, Rocky retired 
             undefeated, and you are too.

               Mr. DOMENICI. It has always been a pleasure working with 
             you and being with you, and I wish you the very best. I 
             know you are heavily involved in another kind of campaign 
             and you are doing something very difficult, and I know you 
             must go through difficult times even though you are 
             enthusiastic about what you are doing. That must be 
             difficult because it is, in fact, very different, and you 
             choose these situations and you handle them well.
               I compliment you, wish you the very best, and hope after 
             the Presidential election, whatever happens, you come back 
             and have a very good life in the Senate.

               Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank my friend.

               Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, it is with mixed feelings 
             of remorse and pleasure that I speak on the subject of the 
             retirement from the Senate of my colleague and friend from 
             New Mexico, Pete Domenici. He and his wife Nancy have been 
             close and dear personal friends. When I was elected to 
             serve in the Senate, they reached out to my wife Rose and 
             me and made us feel at home and very comfortable in our 
             new Senate environment. That was 30 years ago.
               The Domenici family will surely be missed, but I know we 
             will stay in touch. I wouldn't be surprised to get a call 
             from Pete if he sees or hears about my not doing right on 
             an issue he feels deeply about. He is not bashful, nor 
             easily intimidated, and he is going to continue to be 
             consulted for advice and counsel from time to time by me 
             and others who respect him so highly and realize they 
             would benefit from his good judgment and insight.
               From public works to budget and energy, to 
             appropriations, he has been a conspicuous and forceful 
             advocate of public policy in the Senate committees. His 
             contributions to public policy during the years of his 
             service in the Senate are unsurpassed, and the genuineness 
             of the respect in which he is held by his colleagues is 
             unequaled. It has been a great honor to have served with 
             Pete Domenici. I extend my sincere congratulations to him 
             on his outstanding career in the Senate.
                                            Tuesday, September 30, 2008
               Mr. REID. Mr. President, a lot of people think they know 
             Senator Pete Domenici. They know him as a man who has been 
             a leader in the Senate for decades on energy issues, and 
             he was the chairman of that committee, and on budget 
             issues, and he has been the chairman of that committee. He 
             is a man who has been a leader on the Appropriations 
             Committee. I have known Senator Domenici in that regard, 
             as have the American people, but what I think is so 
             interesting about Pete Domenici is a side that a lot of 
             people don't know about him. Here is a man who can talk 
             about Wall Street, he can talk about financial markets, he 
             can talk about the budgetary problems facing this country, 
             but in a personal, private conversation, he can talk about 
             baseball.
               Here is a man who was a star athlete. He was a great 
             baseball player. As a young man, he played American Legion 
             Baseball. I played American Legion Baseball, but Pete's 
             team was good. Mine wasn't so good. Pete led his team to 
             the regional championship.
               American Legion Baseball used to be the baseball for 
             young men.
               They did not have all the State tournaments they had in 
             high schools, so in the summer, the best athletes would 
             get together, the best baseball players would get together 
             and play American Legion ball, and the winter regional 
             championship was significant.
               Senator Domenici went on to letter all 4 years, of 
             course, in high school. He was a standout pitcher for the 
             University of New Mexico, and he was All Conference. His 
             final year he had a record of 14 and 3. That is quite a 
             record. In those days, when Senator Domenici was in high 
             school and college, they would play a lot of games, as 
             they do now. A record of 14 and 3 is a very significant 
             record.
               But that was not the end of his career. He went on to 
             play professional baseball. After college he played for 
             the hometown crowd as a left-handed pitcher for the 
             Albuquerque Dukes. I know he must have had a great 
             fastball and a great curveball to accomplish what he did 
             in baseball. But in the Senate, Pete Domenici does not 
             throw curveballs, it is the high hard one all the time. He 
             is a person who tells people how he feels.
               With my longtime relationship with Senator Domenici, I 
             only had one problem my entire career with him. That was a 
             time when--I, frankly, do not remember whether I was the 
             ranking member of the subcommittee or the chairman of the 
             subcommittee because we went back and forth often. That 
             was the Energy and Water Subcommittee of Appropriations.
               As a relatively young Senator, I had a position of 
             power, and I thought what I would do is go and talk to 
             members of that conference and get the votes. I did it 
             very quietly. I did not say a word to Senator Domenici. I 
             surprised everybody. I called for a vote unexpectedly and 
             I won. Senator Domenici did not say a word to me there 
             publicly. Well, when that was over, we had a little heart-
             to-heart talk. He said, ``We have to work together. If we 
             are going to work together on this subcommittee, I want to 
             tell you something about how we do things in the Senate. 
             We do not surprise each other. If you had a problem with 
             that issue, talk to me. If you have the votes, you do not 
             need to try to embarrass me publicly, you go ahead and do 
             what you need to do.''
               I learned a great lesson there. I learned a lesson that 
             can only come by someone teaching you, such as when I 
             practiced law. It is not pleasant to talk about, but you 
             learn from your mistakes in the practice of law. When you 
             make a mistake, you never do that again. As a result of 
             the teaching moment I had with Senator Domenici, I never, 
             ever, did that again. So I appreciate, if for no other 
             reason than that, that one experience with Pete Domenici. 
             It made me a better Senator and a better person.
               It was very clear that when Senator Domenici realized he 
             would not be playing for the New York Yankees, even though 
             he was a good athlete, he decided he would become a 
             teacher. Then he went to law school, and after graduating, 
             Pete Domenici entered politics. First, he was elected to 
             the city commission in Albuquerque. Then he climbed up 
             that ladder of local politics and became mayor of 
             Albuquerque and was elected in 1972 as a young man to the 
             Senate.
               My relationship with Senator Domenici began, my first 
             experience coming to the Senate, in 1986. I was very 
             fortunate that year. I was a brand-new Senator. I got on 
             the Appropriations Committee. As we now know, Senators 
             wait a long time to get on that committee. I was so 
             fortunate that Barbara Mikulski and Harry Reid, two brand-
             new Senators, were placed on that committee. From that 
             day, I got to know Pete Domenici.
               My experience on the Appropriations Committee goes back 
             to the day that John Stennis, the Senator from 
             Mississippi, was chairman of that committee. By the time I 
             got to the Senate, he was in very frail health. He had 
             been shot in a robbery, he had lost a leg, he had cancer. 
             So he was very weak.
               His chief of staff was a man by the name of Frank 
             Sullivan. He had been chief of staff of the Armed Services 
             Committee and then the Appropriations Committee. And he 
             called me. After I met Senator Stennis, he called me in 
             his office and said to me, ``Senator Reid, you got on the 
             best committee in the entire Senate.'' He said, ``You can 
             do a lot of good things for your State, but do not be 
             greedy.''
               That was a real good lesson for me. I have always tried 
             to follow that. Senator Domenici has been someone I have 
             worked with on that committee. I did not immediately get 
             on the Energy and Water Subcommittee. It takes awhile to 
             get on that. That is one of the most sought after 
             subcommittees you can get on in the appropriations 
             process.
               I worked with Pete Domenici since the first day I have 
             been in the Senate but on a very close basis from the time 
             I got on that subcommittee. So we worked together on that 
             Energy and Water Subcommittee for 22 years. Some of these 
             years Pete was the chairman, as I indicated, or I was the 
             ranking member, and other years it was the reverse.
               But, frankly, for the two of us, it did not matter which 
             party controlled the Chamber. We continued to work for the 
             people of Nevada and New Mexico and the country on a 
             bipartisan basis. We have traveled the country. We have 
             gone to some of the labs that are so necessary for our 
             country's science--Livermore--and the great facilities we 
             have in New Mexico--Sandia. I can remember going there so 
             clearly. It was a wonderful experience. The two labs in 
             New Mexico are among the best. We also traveled to a 
             facility we fund in Missouri.
               Anyway, we have done a lot of things together over the 
             years. In addition to that, because of the relationship of 
             the spouses, his wonderful wife Nancy and my wife Landra, 
             have become very good friends. They are very small people 
             physically but big people in other ways. They are both 
             generous, thoughtful, kind wives, mothers, and good 
             people. They have done a great job of raising our 
             children, and they have many conversations about the good 
             and the bad, as all families have in raising their 
             children.
               Pete Domenici is now the longest serving U.S. Senator in 
             the history of his State, New Mexico. But longevity does 
             not tell the story of Pete Domenici's legacy. He has 
             established himself as one of America's premier leaders on 
             energy policy, national security, scientific research. 
             While I talk about national security, one of the things I 
             am very satisfied--I do not want to use the word 
             ``proud''--satisfied that Pete Domenici and I worked 
             together on was the safety and security of our nuclear 
             arsenal.
               Now, you cannot put these nuclear weapons we have in 
             some storage facility and leave them alone. There must be 
             a way of making sure they are safe and reliable. We worked 
             for years to accomplish that goal, and we have been 
             successful.
               Pete Domenici has been one of the leaders on scientific 
             research because of his work on the national labs and 
             fighting nuclear proliferation. He has been to the Nevada 
             test site, 90 miles outside Las Vegas, on a number of 
             occasions. He has worked hard to ensure the 
             competitiveness of American workers in the global 
             marketplace.
               We hope within the next--before this year ends, that we 
             can pass the legislation--we have done it here, it has not 
             made it through the House--that we can pass the 
             legislation he and Senator Wellstone started working on 
             more than 10 years ago. It is no secret that these two 
             great individuals, wonderful Senators, did it because they 
             had experience in their own families, problems with mental 
             illness.
               As a result of that, they became the experts, the 
             leading advocates to do something about mental health 
             parity in our country. If we eliminate the work he has 
             done on scientific research, national security 
             proliferation, competitiveness, eliminate all that, if he 
             had not done that and all he had done is lead us on the 
             road to mental health parity, that would have been enough 
             to have a very successful career.
               But for the millions of Americans who suffer from mental 
             illness, Pete Domenici is the hero. He has joined Senator 
             Kennedy, as I have indicated, the late Senator Wellstone, 
             as national champions on issues related to mental health.
               So I would hope that one of the last things we do during 
             the year, that will be the end of his great Senate career, 
             is figure out a way to make sure we get this legislation 
             passed. Senator Domenici made his farewell remarks this 
             past Saturday. He described himself as nearly incapable of 
             sitting still in a crisis. With these years of service to 
             New Mexico and our country, that description fits him 
             perfectly.
               Pete and Nancy have eight wonderful children.
               Now, how can I describe in my words how I feel about 
             Pete Domenici leaving? I guess we should, as Dr. Seuss 
             said, ``... not cry before it's over, smile because it 
             happened.''
               That certainly applies to our relationship. Don't cry 
             before it is over, even though there are times when you 
             would like to shed a tear, smile because it happened.
               No distance or place or lapse of time can lessen the 
             friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of his 
             work. I am persuaded of the work of my friend, Pete 
             Domenici.

               The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New 
             Mexico.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise to say thank you to 
             the distinguished majority leader for his kind words about 
             my service in the Senate with him and my service in the 
             Senate generally. I wish to say you have been far too 
             generous in your words. I accept them and appreciate them 
             abundantly.
               I also wish to correct one slight error. I was a right-
             hander, not a left-hander. But that is all right. 
             Everything else you said was correct.

               Mr. REID. I have described him as left handed all the 
             time I have known him because I did not think we had two 
             right-handed pitchers. I thought Bunning was the only 
             right-hander.

               Mr. DOMENICI. My pitch was a very gifted one. I was 
             right handed, but the ball broke automatically as if I was 
             pitching left handed. So you were close. When you have a 
             right-handed pitcher who throws a certain kind of fastball 
             that breaks into the right-handed batter, that is the 
             screwball. You go to a lot of trouble throwing a 
             screwball; but mine, I did not have to go to a lot of 
             trouble, it did it anyway. I wish there were things around 
             here that worked that way, that you did not have to work 
             so hard to make something happen. But you have to work 
             here.
               It has been my pleasure to work on many measures, so 
             people will know it is not just talk when you say you work 
             in a bipartisan manner--on the Appropriations Subcommittee 
             on Energy and Water, a strange-sounding title. We have had 
             the task of maintaining the safety of the nuclear arsenal. 
             We were given a brand-new approach, this Senator and I, to 
             saving and securing our arsenal without testing for the 
             first time.
               So we inherited a job of seeing that nuclear weapons 
             were safe, and we were no longer going to test them as we 
             had from their inception. We were given a concept called 
             science-based stockpile stewardship. Remember those words, 
             Leader? For a long time we had trouble saying them, 
             science-based stockpile stewardship.
               That meant we were going to use a scientific manner of 
             assessing what was going on inside a nuclear weapon as it 
             matured. We had put together a plan, paid for it, and it 
             took a long time. Every national laboratory had to have 
             something, as you recall, some piece of this project. We 
             are not yet finished with the biggest piece, which is in 
             California, at the laboratory there, a gigantic laser 
             facility, multilaser facility that will look inside 
             nuclear weapons and see that they are safe.
               But I give you this one example: Two Senators did that. 
             No audiences. No television. They were all welcome. It was 
             open. But we went about our business. As we moved along, 
             nobody could tell who was chairman and who was ranking 
             member. It was a pleasure. I could count on you and you 
             could count on me. I do not think we ever once deceived 
             each other.
               Your story about my getting perturbed at you was 
             slightly different than it was. You were ranking member 
             and you went to the Republican side and got a proxy. What 
             I told you was to never do that again. When you get a 
             proxy from a Republican on my side, you have to tell me. 
             And you were very apologetic and found out that I was 
             telling you right. We never had another word. We never had 
             another situation where proxies got mixed up. Republican 
             proxies were sought after by the Republican person. If you 
             couldn't get them, you would go somewhere else. But we had 
             to have an open hand there and tell each other what was 
             going on. That is the way we did it. We told each other 
             the truth. With the truth came great things from that 
             subcommittee on which we were totally bipartisan.
               We had kept the nuclear arsenal safe enough where those 
             who ran the three laboratories could tell the President 
             every year that the U.S. nuclear arsenal was safe and 
             sound. They must do that as a matter of law, you recall.
               I say thank you. I close and say I, too, am sorry about 
             leaving. You indicated something about sadness, but I am 
             hopeful things will be all right with me, and certainly 
             the Senate will have to continue to be a great place.
               As we close, we had this one dialog this morning, and I 
             have the chance, before my distinguished Republicans 
             waiting to speak, just to say I hope with all the strength 
             of my being that we can put together a package that will 
             gather the votes in the House and Senate to put this plan, 
             this recovery plan, in place so we are not going to suffer 
             irreparable harm for the people by the financial markets 
             falling apart.
               I am so sorry we got started with this concept of 
             calling it a bailout. There is nothing to bail out. We are 
             buying assets that are stopping up the system. I don't 
             know how that got to be a bailout. You buy them and you 
             own something and you sell it later. If you don't buy it, 
             the entire system behind those bad assets, which were 
             stuffed into the system over a number of years because we 
             sold mortgages that were not good mortgages--I wish the 
             people could understand that we are not bailing out Wall 
             Street. We are not bailing out anything. We are trying to 
             make sure the American financial markets in your own 
             backyard--your bank, your savings and loan, all the other 
             things, your payroll checks--are going to function under 
             this very fabulous American financial system which has 
             some very big kinks in it now. It won't work. We have to 
             make it work.
               Again, I thank the majority leader for his comments.

               The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from 
             Arizona.

               Mr. KYL. Mr. President, while both the majority leader 
             and Senator Domenici are here, I want to say I appreciate 
             the opening remarks of the majority leader today. It is 
             precisely that tone of necessity and bipartisanship that 
             will enable us to achieve the result to which Senator 
             Domenici referred. I hope to continue in that same vein 
             with some comments I will make in a moment.
               If I could turn to Senator Domenici, the majority leader 
             pointed out several of the things that have been commented 
             upon before regarding Senator Domenici's leadership. I 
             want to focus on two other things briefly. The majority 
             leader spoke to his leadership on matters relating to the 
             preservation of our great national laboratory assets, two 
             of which are located in New Mexico. He referred to Senator 
             Domenici's leadership on mental health reform, on nuclear 
             power; that is to say, our production of electricity on 
             which Senator Domenici has worked so hard. I don't recall 
             if he mentioned all of the budget reform that Senator 
             Domenici put in when he was chairman of the committee, but 
             we are certainly all aware of that.
               I would like to briefly mention two others, to express 
             appreciation to Senator Domenici for his help in achieving 
             one of the landmark Indian water settlements in the 
             history of the country related to Arizona a couple of 
             years ago. Without his help, that wouldn't have been 
             possible. And I want to indicate something that probably 
             not a lot of folks are aware of, but people in New Mexico 
             will become aware of, that Senator Domenici has worked 
             hard to lay the foundation for an equally historic water 
             settlement for New Mexico. Unfortunately, that will not be 
             completed before the end of Senator Domenici's service, 
             but it will not be completed without the foundation he 
             helped to lay.
               Finally, something that has happened recently that only 
             his Republican colleagues would be familiar with, but in 
             these last several weeks in which we have confronted this 
             financial crisis, several leaders have risen to accept the 
             challenge of leadership. Senator Domenici is one of those. 
             Perhaps because he had been here a long time, had the 
             respect of his colleagues, always spoke thoughtfully on 
             these issues, it would be expected that he would perhaps 
             rise to that leadership role. I know in our Republican 
             conference during the meetings we have had to discuss 
             this, and others, it was frequently the case that Senator 
             Domenici stood and thoughtfully and quietly expressed the 
             words that only very respected leaders can speak. He did 
             that on one occasion to bridge a gap between two groups of 
             Republicans, to compliment one group and to demonstrate 
             how we all could work together to restore confidence to 
             our markets. He has done that subsequently in a thoughtful 
             and, I even suggest, profound way.
               I have heard Senator Domenici speak eloquently before, 
             but I have never heard him speak more eloquently than when 
             he has been addressing this crisis. It allows us to return 
             to the proposition that as this great Senator nears the 
             end of his service in the Senate for the people of New 
             Mexico and the people of America, he is joining together 
             in a bipartisan way to work on a problem of great 
             significance to the people. He has done everything he can.
               I know when he leaves, he will be able to say he did 
             everything he could do--and he did it well. I appreciate 
             his service. I have appreciated the personal relationship 
             we have had, the friendship we have had, his assistance to 
             me. I know that will continue even though he and Nancy 
             will not be here in the Senate. But we will be close, 
             since we are neighbors in the great Southwest. I join the 
             remarks of the distinguished majority leader and 
             compliment my friend for his years of service to the 
             people of this country.

               The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New 
             Mexico.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I once again thank my 
             friend from Arizona. He has given me far too much credit, 
             but I appreciate it. ...

               Mr. DODD. ... The last Member I want to talk about is 
             Pete Domenici with whom I have had the privilege of 
             working on so many issues over the years. In fact, only a 
             few weeks ago I was honored to be asked to come and speak 
             on behalf of Pete Domenici in Las Cruces at New Mexico 
             State University where the Center for Public Policy is 
             named for Pete Domenici. It was quite a gathering at which 
             I was the keynote speaker, where Pete was being recognized 
             for his contribution to the State and our country.
               Jim Baker, former Secretary of State, spoke at the 
             conference as well over that weekend. It was quite a 
             gathering of people from that State to express their 
             appreciation for Pete's 36 years of serving the people of 
             his home State. Again, a legislative record that is clear 
             and almost without peer in many ways.
               Because of Pete Domenici our country will soon recognize 
             that mental illness is as serious as any physical illness. 
             He, Ted Kennedy, and Paul Wellstone were so pivotal in 
             making us all aware of how important this issue is. 
             Without Pete's leadership, I don't think this would have 
             happened. Without Pete going to his colleagues and saying, 
             ``Let me tell you about my family''--he had the courage to 
             talk about his own family and what they have been 
             through--it has made a difference. Today millions of 
             people will benefit as a result of Pete's leadership on an 
             issue that is going to make a difference in their lives. 
             Because of Pete's leadership, candidates for President in 
             both parties now acknowledge that we have to be serious 
             about doing something about global warming; again, serious 
             about reducing our emissions, ending our dependence on 
             oil.
               Again, John Warner and Pete Domenici are classic 
             examples of people who step out of what you might normally 
             associate them with on an issue and get involved and make 
             a difference, almost overnight, because they said this is 
             worthy of our attention and certainly serious, so serious 
             that it demands action.
               Thanks to Pete's relentless vigilance, I am confident 
             that safe and secure nuclear energy, which I happen to be 
             a supporter of as well, will play a large role in helping 
             us address one of our largest problems in the years ahead. 
             Because of Pete, last year over 5 million children in 51 
             counties studied what character means in the classroom. 
             Pete and I are the authors of that idea. It started out as 
             a small idea in his State and my State, to insist that 
             part of the day, on the athletic fields, in classes--not 
             just for some 15 minutes--students embrace one of the six 
             pillars of great character and make it a part of the 
             seamless garment of a classroom.
               Today, as I say, in 51 counties, as well as in virtually 
             almost every State, Character Counts is there, to help 
             children learn early on the importance of what honesty and 
             integrity mean, among the other pillars of good character.
               Yet when we talk about Pete and what he has accomplished 
             for our communities and our country, we would be doing a 
             great disservice if we were to sum up his legacy as some 
             series of issues. My affection for these Members I am 
             talking about transcends the substantive issues which they 
             have championed over the years. It goes deeper than that.
               Pete's contribution to the Senate will be measured in a 
             volume of bills he introduced with a number of votes he 
             took; some 13,000, by the way, for which I think there are 
             only 8 or 10 Senators who have a similar record.
               But Pete Domenici is much more than that. Long before he 
             was a Senator, Pete was a wonderful father and husband. He 
             grew up in a remarkable family, an immigrant family to our 
             country--the classic American story. Many of our fellow 
             colleagues can tell similar tales of how they arrived in 
             this great Nation of ours and the contributions they have 
             made.
               Long before he dreamed of becoming chairman of the 
             Senate Budget Committee, Pete was a boy counting pennies 
             at his father's grocery business in New Mexico. So often 
             all we hear about politicians is negativity--and it breeds 
             cynicism, too much, frankly. But in my experience, the 
             most effective legislators have remarkable strength and an 
             inner confidence. That is Pete Domenici in so many ways.
               You only need to know his wife Nancy, whom Jackie and I 
             have gotten to know--they are neighbors of ours on Capitol 
             Hill. We have had wonderful dinners together on Sunday 
             nights, with Pete doing some of the cooking, and Nancy, I 
             suspect, doing most of it, but Pete taking credit for most 
             of it, as we would gather and have wonderful family 
             gatherings, as they would embrace and cherish the new 
             arrivals of my family, my two daughters. So we are losing 
             not just a colleague but a neighbor and a friend and a 
             person I care deeply about.
               Together, these two people, Nancy and Pete, have raised 
             eight wonderful children. As one of six myself, their 
             house reminds me so much of growing up in my own house--
             kids, very independent thinkers, all challenging their 
             parents on every imaginable subject matter, and then going 
             out the door and parroting their parents' positions on 
             every issue--the parents never to appreciate the fact that 
             their words were actually carrying the day. It can be 
             messy in those households, but it is never boring, and 
             certainly never so in the Domenici household as well.
               That is why there is one legislative accomplishment that 
             best captures Pete Domenici, and that is the Character 
             Counts bill that we started together in 1994. Character 
             Counts was founded on a simple notion: that core ethical 
             values are not just important to us as individuals, they 
             form the foundation of a democratic society as well.
               Values like trustworthiness and respect, responsibility 
             and fairness, caring and citizenship are at the core of 
             who Pete is as a human being. Despite the fact that it was 
             Pete's own family, heritage, and faith that taught him 
             character's importance--his mother and father, the nuns in 
             his Catholic school--he recognized something that too 
             often gets lost today: that in a society that celebrates 
             our differences--our heritage, our personal interests as 
             individuals--character is the one thing that transcends 
             them, whether they be cultural, religious, economic, or 
             social.
               Somewhere along the way we lost that as a country. We 
             forgot how important character is to the strength of our 
             families, our communities, our institutions, and who we 
             are as individuals.
               Quite frankly, when Pete retires at the end of this 
             year, in a matter of days now, I am worried we will be 
             losing a piece of that from the institution in which he 
             and I serve--the value that he has brought on this subject 
             matter and so many others.
               So let me say thanks to Pete for his warmth and 
             friendship, and I wish him and Nancy the very best in the 
             years to come. He is a remarkable individual and one who 
             will make a difference in whatever he decides to do with 
             the remainder of his life. I thank him for all of his 
             contributions, and I look forward to seeing him and Nancy 
             as often as we can in the years to come.

               Mr. DURBIN. Pete Domenici of New Mexico has been an 
             institution in the Senate for many years. It has been a 
             pleasure to serve with him for 12. I once visited New 
             Mexico and went to a roadside stand where they sell these 
             Christmas wreaths made out of chili peppers. There was a 
             Mexican-American lady. I started to buy the Christmas 
             wreath to take home to my family, and I said to her, ``So 
             I understand you have a Senator in this State named 
             Domenici.'' ``Oh, I love Pete Domenici,'' she said, and 
             went on and on about what a great man he was, how much she 
             liked him. She said, ``You know, I am a Democrat, but I am 
             a Domenici Democrat. I always voted for Pete. I think he 
             is a good man.''
               He is a good man. He and his wife Nancy have raised a 
             good family. He has done so many things. He feels 
             passionate about so many issues, but the one I wish to 
             particularly credit him for leadership on is the issue of 
             mental health parity.
               He and Paul Wellstone stood up on that issue when nobody 
             else would. Paul passed away 6 years ago in a plane crash. 
             We have continued to find a way to pass that bill. We 
             still have a chance in the closing hours of this session, 
             and I hope we do.
               In a magnanimous gesture, Pete came forward and said 
             this should be known as the Wellstone-Domenici bill; Paul 
             Wellstone deserves top billing on it. I am glad he did 
             that. It showed character and the kind of man he is. We 
             need to pass that bill before we go home, not just for 
             Pete Domenici and the memory of Paul Wellstone but for the 
             millions of people across America counting on us to make 
             sure victims of mental illness are given fair treatment 
             under hospitalization policies across this Nation. He 
             certainly deserves it. ...
               Those Senators leaving our ranks leave positive memories 
             for this Senator from Illinois. The fact that I have been 
             able to serve with them, know them, and count them as 
             friends, I count as one of the real blessings of my 
             service in the Senate.
                                             Wednesday, October 1, 2008

               Mr. BOND. ... Mr. President, I want to say that the 
             passing of the mental health parity bill will be a great 
             tribute to a wonderful friend, Pete Domenici, a true icon. 
             He has been a longtime champion of this issue, and this 
             will be a great testament to his leadership.
               I worked with Pete on the Budget Committee. I say 
             thanks, Pete, for making me take all the tough votes. It 
             was ugly but necessary, just like the financial rescue 
             package.
               He is most recognized for his work on energy. I am very 
             proud to have supported him in his efforts over many years 
             to develop an abundant energy resource, long before $4 
             gasoline brought the issue home to every American.
               Just as important to me, I will miss the great 
             friendship of a wonderful man, Pete Domenici, and his 
             magnificent wife Nancy.
               Pete is known for his devotion to his friends and 
             family--to his wife Nancy of 50 years and their eight 
             children.
               Pete is also known for his devotion and dedication to 
             New Mexico.
               Born and raised in New Mexico, Pete has served his State 
             in the U.S. Senate now for 36 years--making him the most 
             senior Senator New Mexico has ever had.
               Pete has also earned the title as the only Republican to 
             ever be elected by New Mexico for a 6-year Senate term--in 
             a State not known to lean Republican.
               Pete's contributions to his State are well known to his 
             constituents in New Mexico--whether it is fighting for 
             solutions to the State's water crisis, supporting New 
             Mexico schools, or ensuring New Mexico gets their fair 
             share of tax dollars.
               Pete's contributions to our Nation are also well known. 
             He understands the importance of keeping America as a 
             leader in science and technology and has worked for 
             improvements to the math and science education our 
             schoolchildren need to succeed.
               Pete has also fought passionately for fiscal 
             responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely 
             and curbing nuclear proliferation to keep our communities 
             safe.
               In recent years, Pete has used his role as chairman or 
             ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources 
             Committee to fight for our Nation's energy security.
               Pete worked across the aisle to pass the first 
             comprehensive energy legislation since 1992. Because of 
             Pete and the bill he got through Congress, our Nation 
             began investing in our own energy sources. This bill 
             provided incentives to expand the production of energy 
             from wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass sources to 
             promote cleaner alternative sources of energy.
               Pete also ensured that this bill promoted research and 
             development of hydrogen and fuel-cell technology.
               Pete didn't end the fight for our Nation's energy 
             independence in 2005 though. Since that time, he has been 
             a leader in the Senate calling for more action.
               Before the gas price crisis that is now affecting 
             families across the country, Pete sounded the alarm. He 
             has called for bringing relief to families struggling with 
             pain at the pump by tapping our own domestic supplies of 
             gas and oil.
               Pete has proposed the commonsense proposal--the Gas 
             Price Reduction Act--to end our Nation's energy crisis.
               It is this foresight, this leadership, and this passion 
             to making our Nation a better place and for making our 
             communities better for our families that will make Pete 
             Domenici missed by all--Republicans and Democrats alike.
               Mr. President, I thank the chair and yield the floor.

               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today, as one of those 
             who made the weighty decision not to seek reelection, to 
             share my most personal thoughts--tributes--to my esteemed 
             colleagues who will quietly, humbly, and with a deep sense 
             of gratitude to their States, to our Nation, bring to a 
             conclusion their public service as U.S. Senators.
               This is a diverse group of Senators. Whether we hail 
             from small farms, small cities or, in my case, from major 
             metropolitan areas, we bring different backgrounds, 
             different interests. That diversity gives the Senate its 
             strength to serve equally all Americans. What we share, 
             however, is an unwavering love for our States, our country 
             and for the institution of the U.S. Senate.
               We aspire to Winston Churchill's quote: ``We make a 
             living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.''
               It has been my privilege, over my 30 years in the 
             Senate, to serve with a total of 261 Members. Each, 
             almost, shall be remembered as a friend.
               I want to say a few special, heartfelt words about 
             Senator Pete Domenici.
               I first came to know Pete Domenici when I arrived in the 
             Senate in 1979. He beat me here by 6 years, and now has 
             served New Mexico with distinction for 36 years. Pete is a 
             veritable renaissance man: baseball player, math teacher, 
             lawyer, city commissioner, Senator and, most important, a 
             loving husband, father, and grandfather.
               Senator Domenici made his mark with his leadership on 
             fiscal and energy issues, especially with his influence in 
             promoting clean, carbon-free, nuclear energy and moving 
             America forward now that we have the reality of an energy 
             shortage and a mission to lessen America's dependence on 
             imported energy. America must move forward by increasing 
             and enhancing its capability to develop nuclear 
             powerplants. At one time in my career, I was privileged to 
             be Secretary of the Navy, and during that period, America 
             had, either at sea or in port, some 70-plus naval vessels 
             powered by nuclear plants, and we had a safety record 
             second to none. That can, and will, be duplicated with our 
             growing domestic programs.
               A hallmark of my dear friend Pete, whom we sometimes 
             call a ``grizzly old cuss,'' is how he so often expresses 
             his feelings for his fellow Senators by saying, ``I love 
             you, brother.'' Pete, we return that deep respect and 
             affection. ...
               I am proud to say I have come to know each of these fine 
             men. And I firmly believe that this is but yet another 
             beginning in all of our lives, for, to quote Churchill 
             again, ``the chain of destiny can only be grasped one link 
             at a time.''

               Mr. CORKER. Madam President, there are a number of 
             distinguished Senators who are leaving this body this 
             year. I know there have been a number of tributes given to 
             all of them and their service. ...
               There is one particular Senator with whom I have spent 
             more time than the others just because of committee 
             assignments, and that is Pete Domenici. Pete is the 
             ranking member on our Energy Committee. I have loved 
             listening to his many insights. He has with him Frank and 
             Scott who, hopefully, will stay with us and who, together 
             as a group, I think have offered wise counsel to all of us 
             on that committee.
               There is something about Pete, though. His kindness and 
             his encouragement to me as a person have been most unique. 
             As Chairman Dodd mentioned earlier, I am one of the most 
             junior Members here, but Pete has constantly encouraged me 
             to step out, to make my positions known, to go ahead and 
             forget the fact that I am positioned where I am here in 
             the Senate and to take on a leadership role where it is 
             important for me to do so. There is a special place in my 
             heart for people such as Pete Domenici who encourage all 
             of us to step out and to try to exercise our full 
             potential. I will miss him greatly. I know he loves this 
             body. I know that in many ways he will be lost as he 
             leaves this body. But I want to assure him today that as 
             he leaves, this is one Senator he has encouraged, he has 
             caused to be a better person, and Pete Domenici will 
             always be a part of the Senate service I offer in this 
             body. So I wish him well. I wish the others well.

               Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to take this 
             opportunity to pay tribute to Pete Domenici, one of the 
             finest Senators I have known and one who represents the 
             Senate at its best. Senator Domenici is someone whom I 
             respect greatly and whose counsel I have very much 
             appreciated over the years. I will miss him very much when 
             he retires at the end of this session.
               Senator Domenici and I share many interests, but one 
             above all is our deep and abiding interest in the fiscal 
             affairs of our Nation. In the world of budgeting, Senator 
             Domenici is a giant. He is, of course, one of the pioneers 
             on the Budget Committee. He joined the committee in 1975, 
             literally a few months after it was created in July 1974. 
             So he was there at the beginning, helping to shape and 
             guide this new committee.
               He rose to become chairman in 1981, and he served in 
             that capacity through 1987 and then again between 1995 and 
             2001. In 2001, we faced the unique circumstance in a 
             closely divided Senate, as he and I traded off being 
             chairman and ranking member in that year. In total, 
             Senator Domenici has served 34 years on the committee, 12 
             years as chairman and 10 years as ranking member--the most 
             distinguished record of any Member.
               His impact on the Federal budget and the budget process 
             has been unprecedented. He authored many of the Senate's 
             budget rules that we use today to protect taxpayers. He 
             also helped author major deficit-reduction plans during 
             the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the Federal Credit Reform 
             Act of 1990 and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
               But Senator Domenici will be remembered for more than 
             his service on the Budget Committee. He has been a strong 
             and important voice on the need to diversify our Nation's 
             energy sources. As chairman of the Energy and Natural 
             Resources Committee, he helped enact the Energy Policy Act 
             of 2005. He has been a passionate advocate on the issue of 
             mental health and has been a leader in pushing for mental 
             health parity legislation. Senator Domenici was also one 
             of the architects of the Human Genome Project, which I 
             believe people will look back on as one of the greatest 
             accomplishments of all time.
               And, of course, Senator Domenici has been a tireless 
             advocate on behalf of the citizens of the beautiful State 
             of New Mexico. Born in Albuquerque, he is that State's 
             longest serving Senator. As a young man, Pete Domenici had 
             many options. At one time, he pitched for the Albuquerque 
             Dukes, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and may have 
             had aspirations of going to the major leagues. But I am 
             sure that the citizens of New Mexico--and, indeed, all of 
             us--are happy that he chose the path of public service.
               Let me conclude by saying, and I know that I speak for 
             all of my colleagues, how much we respect, admire, and 
             appreciate his service. For me personally, it has been an 
             absolute honor to serve along with him on the Budget 
             Committee. He has made an extraordinary contribution to 
             the work of the Budget Committee, to the Congress, and to 
             the country. We will miss him greatly.
                                              Thursday, October 2, 2008
               Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise this morning to 
             recognize and pay tribute to several colleagues who are 
             concluding distinguished careers in the Senate. These 
             gentlemen have distinguished themselves. They have 
             dedicated themselves to representing their States and 
             representing the best interests of the Nation.
               Senator Pete Domenici is an individual who has worked 
             many years to strengthen our country in so many different 
             ways. He has been a key member of the Committee on Energy 
             and Water, and he has been a key member of the 
             Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee.
               He was first elected to the Senate in 1972--36 years of 
             outstanding service to the Nation and to his State of New 
             Mexico.
               He will be remembered for many things but particularly 
             for his unswerving commitment to mental health parity in 
             the health care system. It is fitting that legislation we 
             passed will bear his name, along with that of Senator Paul 
             Wellstone. Senator Domenici's advocacy for those with 
             mental illness, his understanding of these issues in a 
             profoundly personal way, accounted for the momentum and 
             ultimately the success of the legislation. I commend him 
             and thank him for his service. ...
               To these Members, I wish them well. I thank them 
             personally for their kindness to me and their 
             thoughtfulness on so many other occasions.

               Mr. ALLARD. I wish to mention some of the committee 
             chairmen I have had an opportunity to work with. One of 
             the committees I was successful in getting on was the 
             Budget Committee with Pete Domenici as chairman, and then 
             Judd Gregg following him, and now we have Senator Kent 
             Conrad. All of these chairmen have been very gracious and 
             helpful in working with me on issues. ...
               I wish to say a few things about those people who are 
             retiring, starting with Senator Pete Domenici, who I 
             mentioned was my chairman on the Budget Committee. I have 
             worked with him also on the Appropriations Committee. I 
             worked with him on energy issues and issues that are 
             common to New Mexico and the State of Colorado. His 
             service here in the Senate has been remarkable and 
             dedicated. The West has been blessed that we have had such 
             a good spokesman as Senator Domenici out there, carrying 
             many of the issues that are important to his neighboring 
             States, as well as New Mexico. The institution will miss 
             him. I am sure New Mexico will miss him. I consider it an 
             honor and a pleasure to have served with him.

               Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I would like to begin my 
             remarks this afternoon acknowledging four of our 
             colleagues who will be leaving the Senate along with me at 
             the end of this Congress, the 110th Congress, and then 
             make some additional comments.
               Mr. President, this body will lose two of the most 
             respected, highly regarded consensus builders in the 
             history of this body. I speak of the senior Senator from 
             New Mexico, Mr. Domenici, and the senior Senator from 
             Virginia, Mr. Warner. Between the two of these 
             distinguished national leaders, they have given the Senate 
             and this country 70 years of service.
               Most Americans are aware of Senators Domenici and Warner 
             and the contributions they have made. Those of us who have 
             had the privilege of serving with these two individuals 
             know what they have meant to our country. They have been 
             role models, leaders, men of conscience, of vision, of 
             integrity, of courage. And all of those most-valued human 
             characteristics have been evident when America has needed 
             them most.
               For their voice and their courage and their vision, we 
             thank them. For the kind of men they are, and the Senators 
             they have been, we thank them. We are all much enriched by 
             our association with Senators Warner and Domenici, and 
             this country will miss them greatly.
               But they leave strong legacies. They leave men and women 
             who have been touched by their leadership and their values 
             who will carry on behind them, emulating their leadership 
             and their vision. ...
               Senator Craig, Senator Allard, Senator Warner, and 
             Senator Domenici all leave the Senate a better institution 
             for their service.

               Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, after six distinguished terms 
             in the U.S. Senate, Pete Domenici is retiring. I am 
             certain that this change of pace is a challenge in itself 
             for a man who has over the years impressed all of us with 
             his energy and drive and decency.
               I have had the privilege of serving with Pete Domenici 
             on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, 
             and working with him on that committee's Permanent 
             Subcommittee on Investigations. I have seen and long 
             respected Senator Domenici's expertise on energy policy; 
             his depth of knowledge in that area has made him a steady 
             voice through many challenges and will be very much missed 
             by his colleagues. The Senate is also losing his great 
             depth of experience on the budget process.
               Pete Domenici has also earned bipartisan admiration for 
             his extensive work on mental health issues, including his 
             leadership to pass the bipartisan Mental Health Parity 
             Act. I know that mental health issues are very personal to 
             Senator Domenici and his family; his firsthand insights 
             have contributed significantly to congressional efforts to 
             improve mental health care in America.
               I wish Pete Domenici and his wife Nancy all the best as 
             they enjoy life after the Senate.

               Mr. KYL. Mr. President, the Senate will be a different 
             place when Senator Domenici departs at the end of this 
             session. I say that as a colleague and as a neighbor in 
             the great Southwest.
               Senator Domenici has served in this body for six terms, 
             longer than any Senator in the history of New Mexico. 
             Judging from the energy that he has displayed during the 
             past months, he could serve another; but he has decided to 
             retire, and it is well deserved.
               During his time in the Senate, Senator Domenici has been 
             involved in some of the most difficult issues to confront 
             the body. Recently, he has spoken eloquently about the 
             financial stabilization plan the Senate just passed; and 
             earlier in the summer, he was one of the more vocal 
             advocates of securing this Nation's energy future. Of 
             course, he has long supported reducing the country's 
             dependence on foreign sources of energy, but this summer 
             he addressed the issue with renewed vigor.
               Senator Domenici has been of great help to his neighbors 
             in Arizona. Without his assistance, we would not have an 
             Arizona Water Settlements Act, one of the landmark 
             settlements in the history of the country. He has also 
             been working hard on a water settlement for New Mexico. It 
             won't be completed before he leaves the Senate, but 
             Senator Domenici has been instrumental in getting the 
             settlement as far as it has.
               Senator Domenici should also be proud that legislation 
             he has worked on for some time now is poised for passage. 
             Mental health parity has long been a priority for Senator 
             Domenici, and it appears he will be able to add it to his 
             long list of accomplishments in the Senate.
               When a Senator has served as long as Senator Domenici, 
             it is difficult to imagine the Senate without him. My 
             Senate colleagues and I will miss Pete and Nancy, and we 
             will remember his legacy of leadership and years of 
             distinguished service to the Nation.

               Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, one of the lessons of our 
             history is that America is not great because our leaders 
             were somehow superhuman, but because regular people enjoy 
             extraordinary freedom and use it to pursue ideals beyond 
             their individual concerns. Senator Pete Domenici is a 
             wonderful example of this unique brand of American 
             greatness, and as he completes his service to the Senate, 
             I wanted to take a few minutes of the Senate's time to 
             honor him and thank him.
               Pete Domenici was born to Italian immigrants during the 
             Great Depression in Albuquerque, NM, which was a long 
             cultural distance from Washington, DC. He worked in his 
             family grocery businesses and played for a farm team of 
             the Brooklyn Dodgers, which is enough to endear him to me 
             right there. He became a junior high math teacher and then 
             earned a law degree.
               He served in local government for 6 years before his 
             first election to the Senate in 1972. And he has served 
             six full terms in the Senate, which is amazing in and of 
             itself. But what is perhaps most amazing is he has 
             remained the regular person he was brought up to be in 
             Albuquerque and has always applied his commonsense values 
             to the most complex national problems.
               Senator Domenici has been a stalwart in the difficult 
             job of trying to curb Washington's seemingly endless 
             appetite for more spending. Politics tends to be a 
             business in which all the rewards flow to those who say 
             ``yes.'' But for the sake of the taxpayers and children 
             and grandchildren of ours who cannot yet speak, Pete 
             Domenici has been willing to say ``no'' to more spending 
             in order to say ``yes'' to their economic future.
               Senator Domenici has made a tremendous contribution to 
             the advancement of science by focusing resources and 
             efforts to understand the human brain. For decades from 
             now, a wide spectrum of discoveries and therapies to 
             improve human life will come out of his insistence on 
             progress of the basic science of brain research. It has 
             been a great privilege to work with him closely on his 
             signature issue for the last several years: mental health 
             parity. His tireless commitment to ending insurance 
             discrimination, and willingness to share his own family's 
             struggles, have broken down barriers to treatment and 
             brought hope to millions of Americans living with mental 
             illness.
               The legislative process has regrettably become more 
             divisive and partisan over the last decade, but through it 
             all Senator Domenici has been a role model of civility, 
             diligence, and goodwill. The Senate was built to achieve 
             consensus on the great issues of the day, and Pete 
             Domenici was always focused on what we could get done, 
             rather than on who got the credit.
               His ability and willingness to find consensus and 
             produce legislation the American people need has been 
             showcased by his 30 years of service on the Senate Energy 
             and Natural Resources Committee. It is a testament to his 
             abilities that as either chairman or ranking member, Pete 
             Domenici has guided three energy bills into law in the 
             last 3 years: the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Gulf of 
             Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, and the Energy 
             Independence and Security Act of 2007. Pete found a way to 
             cut through a tough, partisan climate in the Senate to 
             address our dependence on foreign oil.
               Personally he has been a connecting point for me with 
             the great compromisers and policy experts of the Senate's 
             recent past. And he has always reminded me that we are not 
             Senators who happen to be people; we are people who happen 
             to be Senators for a time, and we need to nurture the 
             roots of faith, family, and friendship that give us life.
               Pete Domenici is a great American success story, and it 
             has been an honor and privilege to serve with him in 
             Washington. His influence on me will continue long after 
             he has left this body.

               Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, at the risk of 
             embarrassing him, I want to take a moment to say how vital 
             Senator Domenici has been in solving most of the nuclear 
             puzzle. He really led the rebirth of the nuclear industry 
             and I want to say how much I will miss him since he has 
             been a prime mover in the effort to bring about a new 
             nuclear age in this country.
               As most of you know Senator Domenici has served 36 years 
             in the Senate. But some of you may not know that he gave 
             up a promising career in baseball to become a public 
             servant. He started playing when he was 10, eventually 
             pitching for a minor league team called the Albuquerque 
             Dukes. But he left baseball to become a math and science 
             teacher at Garfield Junior High in his native State of New 
             Mexico, later went onto law school and ran for the U.S. 
             Senate in 1972. And he's been here ever since.
               About a dozen years ago the Senator realized that this 
             Nation desperately needed a new source of electricity. He 
             realized that there are higher uses for high-priced 
             natural gas than to burn it for power generation, and that 
             until carbon capture and storage can be perfected and 
             widely practiced that the expansion of coal-fired power 
             might have environmental drawbacks. So he crafted the 
             forerunner of policies that today make up the Nuclear 
             Power 2010 Program, which is designed to have the 
             government partner with industry to approve the design and 
             speed the licensing of the next generation of power plants 
             that absolutely preclude the type of radiation accident 
             that happened three decades ago at Three Mile Island.
               He has been the sponsor of the loan guarantees, the 
             architect of reauthorizing a responsible liability program 
             and the person most responsible for harnessing the 
             research capacities of America to breathe life into the 
             research and nuclear construction sectors. One news outlet 
             called him ``the nuclear renaissance man.'' And he is 
             recognized by all as the driving force behind the 
             industry's resurgence.
               But he has done so much more. His work on the Energy 
             Policy Act of 2005 and on last year's Energy Independence 
             and Security Act were landmarks in bipartisan legislating. 
             He helped renewable and alternative energy, from wind and 
             solar to biomass, and especially biofuels to develop, 
             helping create Clean Renewable Energy Bonds to pay for the 
             construction of renewable energy plants. During the bills 
             he refereed more policy disputes and generated more 
             compromises than I have time to mention.
               But he also was the sponsor of so much other landmark 
             legislation during his storied career. One bill finally 
             passed the Senate earlier this week to require parity for 
             mental health treatment benefits. As Senate budget 
             chairman, he helped set up the Nation's budgeting system, 
             which was still working well when he assumed the 
             chairmanship of the Energy Committee in 2003.
               Pete Domenici's legacy has inspired so many of us and 
             his retirement will leave some pretty big shoes for us all 
             to fill. I will miss the Senator's smile, as well as his 
             lighthearted and joyful presence. He is known as a man who 
             is firm in his convictions, but gracious in his 
             negotiations. He is an example of a true statesman who has 
             served his country well.
               I will truly miss him. I could say a lot more, but I 
             clearly am out of time.
                                              Monday, November 17, 2008
               Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I rise to recognize the 
             service of a great public servant and an outstanding 
             leader.
               Senator Domenici has been a tremendous and dedicated 
             servant to his home State of New Mexico. His distinguished 
             career spans 36 years, making him the first New Mexican to 
             serve six full 6-year terms and the longest serving 
             Senator of his State.
               Senator Domenici has been a devoted champion of the 
             State of New Mexico. His relentless commitment to the 
             people of New Mexico is evident to all who know him. As a 
             respected leader in the Senate, he has pushed to 
             strengthen energy security, curb nuclear proliferation, 
             promote fiscal responsibility in the Federal budget, and 
             has demonstrated profound leadership skills in his desire 
             to continuously improve New Mexico's economy.
               Among his many accomplishments and priorities, Senator 
             Domenici has placed the importance of our future 
             generation at the forefront. He recognizes the necessity 
             of cultivating the young minds of today to ensure a bright 
             future. Over a decade ago, Senator Domenici introduced the 
             Character Counts Program into New Mexico's school 
             curriculum. Under the guidance of this program, 
             schoolchildren learn the value of trustworthiness, 
             respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship 
             as they build their character. Such traits are reflected 
             in Senator Domenici. His legacy of public service has 
             truly left its mark on Congress and will forever remain in 
             the hearts of New Mexicans.
               Madam President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
             paying tribute to this magnificent Senator and friend.
                                           Wednesday, November 19, 2008
               Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, as the 110th Congress draws 
             to a close, I rise to say thanks and farewell to one of 
             our hardest working and most dedicated Members, Senator 
             Pete Domenici of New Mexico.
               Pete Domenici's story is truly the American dream come 
             to life. The son of immigrants, Pete worked in the family 
             grocery business, earned a college degree, taught school, 
             obtained a law degree, and served in local government 
             before his election to the Senate.
               I cannot overlook one vitally important part of his 
             biography, and that is his stint as a pitcher for a farm 
             team of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. Who knows how much 
             different history would be if his fast ball had had a 
             little more ``pop'' to it?
               For 36 years, however, baseball's loss has been the 
             Senate's gain. The character developed by athletic 
             competition--determination, hard work, a sense of fair 
             play--is fully evident in Pete's six terms in office.
               When the people of New Mexico chose Pete Domenici to be 
             the longest serving Senator in their State's history, they 
             chose wisely. His tireless work on a wide range of issues 
             has helped to ensure a better future for all Americans, 
             rural or urban, large State or small. He is a respected 
             leader on some of the most important challenges of our 
             time, such as strengthening energy security, curbing 
             nuclear proliferation, and promoting sound Federal budget 
             policy.
               Pete's understanding of the budget process is matched 
             only by his appreciation of the critical role fiscal 
             responsibility plays. His service on the Budget Committee 
             established his universal reputation as one of the 
             Senate's hardest working, most intelligent, and best-
             informed Members. His focus on results rather than the 
             limelight led one colleague to describe him as having ``a 
             terminal case of responsibility.''
               Senator Domenici is also a true champion for biomedical 
             research, and especially for Americans suffering from 
             mental illness. He has worked unceasingly over the years 
             to increase the understanding and to eliminate the stigma 
             associated with mental illness. He has led the effort in 
             the Senate--first in partnership with Senator Paul 
             Wellstone, and later with our colleague Senator Ted 
             Kennedy, to pass legislation that requires insurers to 
             cover mental illness in the same way they cover physical 
             illnesses.
               Thankfully, those efforts have finally borne fruit with 
             the inclusion of his legislation in the economic stimulus 
             bill, the stabilization bill passed in the Senate. It is a 
             victory not just for Senator Domenici's long-standing 
             efforts but also for the estimated 50 million Americans 
             who suffer from some kind of mental illness. It is a 
             testament to his dedication and his compassion.
               Senator Domenici's tenure has been marked by vision, 
             common sense, and a commitment to results. When he became 
             chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in 
             2003, Senator Domenici set to work to craft the first 
             major comprehensive energy bill in more than a decade. 
             Many thought it would be impossible to put together the 
             bipartisan support to pass the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 
             but Senator Domenici did it. That landmark law laid the 
             foundation for American energy independence, the 
             responsible use of existing resources, and the development 
             of new technology. We can build on that foundation by 
             following the model he set of informed debate and 
             thoughtful consensus.
               While most of his many accomplishments have national 
             significance, there is one that may not be well known 
             outside of his home State. More than a decade ago, Pete 
             Domenici introduced a program that has helped the 
             schoolchildren of New Mexico learn trustworthiness, 
             respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and 
             citizenship. This program is called Character Counts. It 
             fully epitomizes what Pete Domenici is all about. It fully 
             describes his legacy because, with Pete Domenici, 
             character has always counted.
               Senator Domenici leaves this Chamber with an overflowing 
             and bipartisan store of good will and gratitude. We are 
             all losing an outstanding colleague. On a personal note, I 
             am also losing an outstanding Washington, DC, neighbor, 
             since Pete and his wonderful wife, Nancy, live right down 
             the street from me. I am pleased to be among the many 
             Senators offering thanks for his years of service and best 
             wishes to him and to Nancy.

               Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I wish to honor our 
             distinguished colleague, Pete Domenici, who will be ending 
             his historic Senate career at the end of this Congress. 
             For the past 32 years it has been my privilege to serve 
             with Pete Domenici in the Senate. During that time, he has 
             epitomized devotion to public service and to his State of 
             New Mexico. He will leave the Senate having cast more 
             votes than all but six other Senators in the history of 
             this body. He is the longest serving Senator in New 
             Mexico's history, and he rightly occupies an iconic status 
             in his home State.
               Pete Domenici experienced a modest upbringing as the 
             only son of first generation Italian immigrants. He 
             secured his first job after college as a pitcher for the 
             Albuquerque Dukes, then a farm team for the Brooklyn 
             Dodgers. Following a stint as a teacher, Pete won a seat 
             on the Albuquerque City Commission in 1966. The next year, 
             we both became mayors of our respective cities: Pete 
             served Albuquerque as I served Indianapolis. After 6 years 
             in the Albuquerque City Hall, he became the first 
             Republican to win a Senate seat from New Mexico in 38 
             years.
               I entered the Senate in 1977, 4 years after Pete. By 
             that time, he already was recognized as a leading 
             Republican authority on the budget process. I looked to 
             Pete as a mentor on the intricacies of the Federal budget, 
             and he graciously tutored me on both substance and 
             process. Year after year, as the lead Republican on the 
             Budget Committee, Pete was indispensable as floor manager 
             of the budget resolution. Frequently, when the Senate lost 
             its way during a difficult budget debate, Senator Domenici 
             functioned as a touchstone to bring the debate back to 
             sober reflection and verifiable statistics. I doubt the 
             Senate will ever experience a leader who has a more 
             detailed command of the budget process and who could 
             explain it with greater clarity.
               It is telling that even though Pete derived much annual 
             power from his roles as Budget chairman and Appropriations 
             Subcommittee chairman, this status did not dissuade him 
             from proposing a reform idea that implicitly would reduce 
             his opportunities to exercise this authority--namely a 2-
             year budget cycle. I have always been impressed by his 
             embrace of this idea, and his endorsement influenced my 
             own support for a 2-year budget process. Senator 
             Domenici's advocacy went against standard expectations 
             that Members of Congress will protect their own 
             prerogatives even if their best judgment tells them that 
             reforms are necessary. But Pete's service in the Senate 
             was never based upon accruing personal authority or 
             maximizing his notoriety.
               I was extremely pleased that Senator Domenici's 
             assiduous efforts over many years were recently brought to 
             fruition with the passage and signature into law of the 
             Mental Health Parity Act. Pete joined the late Senator 
             Paul Wellstone in promoting this bipartisan legislation 
             that will ensure that health plans make mental health 
             treatment available for those in need. It will provide 
             parity between health insurance coverage of mental health 
             benefits and benefits for medical and surgical services 
             and help avert the development of future physical problems 
             that could arise from untreated and increasingly 
             debilitating psychological illness.
               I am especially sad to see Pete leave because he has 
             been an outstanding partner in work to prevent nuclear 
             proliferation and to improve response to attacks involving 
             weapons of mass destruction. In concert with the efforts 
             of Senator Sam Nunn and myself to establish the Nunn-Lugar 
             Cooperative Threat Reduction Program at the Department of 
             Defense--which is aimed at securing and destroying weapons 
             of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union--Senator 
             Domenici spearheaded the expansion of the Energy 
             Department's involvement in safeguarding nuclear material. 
             He also was an effective advocate for the role of our 
             national laboratories in nonproliferation work. Scientists 
             from the national laboratories have been on the front 
             lines of our engagement with the brain trust of the Soviet 
             nuclear program. Pete understood the unique skill set 
             possessed by our laboratories, and he made sure that they 
             were well funded and authorized to implement numerous 
             nonproliferation projects. Senator Domenici also joined 
             with Senator Nunn and me to pass the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici 
             Act of 1997. Long before September 11, 2001, this 
             legislation was working to improve the capabilities of 
             local and State first responders, especially with regard 
             to weapons of mass destruction attacks. The experience, 
             awareness, and structure established by this program have 
             been valuable to our Nation's post-9/11 homeland security 
             efforts.
               The Senate will miss deeply Senator Domenici's 
             experience displayed over 36 years. He will be remembered 
             as a workhorse able to shoulder the daily burdens of a 
             thousand details, but also as a thoughtful observer who 
             saw beyond the politics of the moment to provide 
             perspective on the direction of our country. I wish my 
             good friend the best as he leaves the Senate to experience 
             new adventures with his family.

               Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, the departure of Senator 
             Pete Domenici will deprive the Senate of our foremost 
             expert on energy and budget legislation, For 36 years, I 
             have enjoyed and learned from Pete's frequent 
             presentations in our Republican Senators' caucus meetings.
               His chairmanship of the Budget Committee during the 
             Reagan administration led to sensible economies in Federal 
             spending which have not since been duplicated. If his 
             comprehensive ideas on energy had been followed, the 
             United States would long ago have shed its dependence on 
             foreign oil.
               Through it all, Pete has been a most congenial 
             colleague. Always smiling, always helping, Pete has 
             constantly been available to offer guidance to Members not 
             as well versed on his areas of specialty. Enormously 
             popular in New Mexico, it is understandable why he is 
             called ``Saint Pete.''
               Senator Domenici came to my rescue when I was called 
             upon to make the presentation at the Senate Wednesday 
             prayer breakfast after I had been a member for a short 
             period of time. I chose to talk about a new edition of the 
             New Testament which had been published by a friend, Irwin 
             Borowsky of Philadelphia. The text omitted all references 
             which might have been interpreted to be critical of Jewish 
             people in connection with the crucifixion.
               I made the point that these references had caused young 
             Jewish boys to be beaten up in some communities on 
             Christian religious holidays motivated by the anti-Jewish 
             comments in the Bible. My theme was sharply, really 
             vehemently, opposed by some Senators at the breakfast. 
             Pete Domenici then supported my contention reciting some 
             of the barbs, insults and worse which had been inflicted 
             on Italians.
               When Pete told me of his plan to retire because he 
             thought he was failing, I urged him to make a full 
             disclosure of his medical condition to his constituents 
             but to stay on. I told him of a conversation I had with 
             Senator Paul Tsongas in 1984 when Tsongas had announced 
             his intent to retire because he had lymphoma, as I recall 
             it. Since the medical evidence suggested Paul might well 
             serve out his term, I urged him to stay on, leaving the 
             voters to decide after making full disclosure as to his 
             medical condition. Paul Tsongas felt otherwise and elected 
             to leave. He not only could have served his full term 
             through 1990 but then became a candidate for the 
             Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 1992. After 
             telling him about the Tsongas situation, Pete stuck by his 
             decision. In recent days, Senator Domenici has looked 
             stronger than ever but I totally respect his decision, 
             saying only that we will miss him very much.
                                            Thursday, November 20, 2008
               Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, it is always a bittersweet 
             moment in time for me when we come to the close of a 
             session of Congress. As the clock counts down the final 
             hours of our legislative activities, it also signals the 
             day when several of our colleagues will be retiring and 
             ending their service in the U.S. Senate. When the current 
             session ends, one of my good friends and great allies in 
             the Senate will be returning home to his beloved New 
             Mexico. He is Senator Pete Domenici and I know we will all 
             miss him and his powerful presence in the Senate.
               In the months to come, Pete may no longer be serving 
             with us, but he will not be forgotten. He has left his 
             mark on the Senate and on us all in too many ways for us 
             not to remember him and how hard he has been working for 
             the people of New Mexico, the West, and the Nation over 
             the years. Every day he came to the Senate he was focused 
             on what he could do today to make our tomorrows better for 
             us all. The leadership he provided on so many issues will 
             be very difficult to replace.
               Pete began his career right out of college when he was 
             deemed to be a good enough pitcher to be signed by a 
             Brooklyn Dodgers farm team. It was a good life, but it 
             wasn't the one for Pete. He decided after the season was 
             over that baseball wasn't what he wanted to do and so he 
             decided instead to do a different kind of pitching--to the 
             people of the city he lived in. That pitch helped launch 
             him on his true life's work--serving the people of his 
             State and helping to make New Mexico a better place to 
             live.
               When Pete decided to get involved in politics his 
             friends told him he was making a big mistake. They warned 
             him that it was a tough way to make a living and that it 
             would be a rough life. Politics is a harsh affair, they 
             told him, and they warned him that people would attack him 
             and his reputation. They wondered why a guy who had such 
             great gifts wanted to take on what would be a very 
             difficult challenge.
               We are very fortunate that Pete didn't take their 
             advice. Instead, he decided to run for the Senate and to 
             bring his case to the people. To no one's surprise they 
             liked what they heard and Pete came to Washington after 
             the 1972 elections. They have been sending him back here 
             with enthusiasm ever since.
               It is not an easy thing to sum up a career in the Senate 
             that has spanned four decades. That is the mark of an 
             individual who has dared to try to achieve great things--
             and succeeded. He came to the Senate with a great 
             awareness of what needed to be done and with a combination 
             of his own brand of style and substance he has been part 
             of a great effort to make those goals a reality.
               Looking over his record in the Senate, it shows that 
             Pete has been a key player in our work to achieve energy 
             independence. Together with his New Mexico colleague, Jeff 
             Bingaman, Pete worked to bring a national energy bill that 
             seemed doomed to be stalled forever to the floor for a 
             vote and on to the President's desk for his signature. 
             Pete was always willing to work with any Member, no matter 
             their place on the political spectrum, if it meant making 
             progress on a key issue. That is why I would sum up Pete's 
             career in one word--success. Pete has a knack of finding a 
             way to make things happen and we have all benefited from 
             his abilities.
               For my part, I also worked with him on the mental health 
             parity bill. For too long the provisions of our health 
             care system provided unequally for physical health and 
             mental health problems. Pete knew that was unfair, and he 
             was determined to do something about it. Working together 
             with me and the chairman of the Senate Committee on 
             Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Senator Edward 
             Kennedy, Pete was able to help bring a bill to the floor 
             that required health insurance plans that offer mental 
             health coverage to provide it on an equal level with that 
             afforded to physical illnesses. It is a major change in 
             health care coverage that will make life better for 
             millions and millions of Americans. It is a major 
             accomplishment and it will serve as a special part of his 
             legacy of achievements in the Senate.
               In the months to come we will also miss Pete's 
             leadership and his wise counsel as we continue to work on 
             the economic problems facing the Nation. Pete is an expert 
             on budget issues and he has served as our Budget Committee 
             chairman. As I have served alongside him over the years, I 
             have appreciated having the opportunity to observe him in 
             action and work with him on measures of concern to us 
             both. He has been a tireless worker in the effort to bring 
             the Nation's expense account to a biennial budget. He has 
             also fought long and hard to try to put a rein on runaway 
             Federal spending. He was willing to do whatever was 
             necessary to reach an agreement that would balance the 
             budget. He got that done by once again working with 
             Members of both sides of the aisle and a Democratic 
             administration. That was just like him. If there was a way 
             to get something done, Pete usually found it, and the new 
             way he helped develop usually got the bill passed and 
             signed into law.
               For me and for most of us, what I will most remember is 
             Pete's personality and his great warmth. He is a genuine 
             good guy who is very down to Earth. He is a gentle man and 
             a gentleman in every sense of the word. He is a man of 
             great faith who believes that public service is the rent 
             we pay for the space we occupy on God's green Earth. 
             Simply put, he is the kind of person you would want to 
             have for a friend. That is why so many of us treasure his 
             friendship. He is loyal and close to other Members and to 
             all his staff. He treats his staff like Members of his 
             extended family and not like staff. I think that is why 
             they work so hard for him. They love him like a father 
             because he treats them, as he treats everyone he knows, 
             with kindness and respect.
               I would be remiss if I didn't mention his wife Nancy. 
             She has been a pillar of strength and a source of great 
             support and encouragement to him in his life. I like to 
             say that Pete and I both overmarried. She has been an 
             essential member of his team since they met and I know he 
             would say that whatever success has come to him in his 
             life he owes in great degree to her influence. She is his 
             greatest friend, his wisest counselor and his closest 
             confidante. Together they have done a tremendous job for 
             the people of New Mexico and the influence they have had 
             on it can be seen from one corner of the State to the 
             other. She has been a partner in the fight for mental 
             health parity.
               The story is told that when Pete was accepted into law 
             school his father made him a deal. ``I will finance your 
             law school education,'' he told him, ``but only if you 
             agree to my terms. If you do well, I will be proud to pay 
             your way. If you bring home an `F' I will expect to be 
             repaid.''
               Well, my friend, as you return home, your father would 
             be very proud of the report card you will take with you 
             from the Senate and from the people of New Mexico. You 
             have done a great job and everything you have done in your 
             life and in your career you have done very well. You take 
             with us our great praise and an ``A'' from us all for 
             effort, for the work you have done and for the results you 
             have achieved. God bless and be with you, Pete and Nancy. 
             I know we will all miss you and think of you often. Make 
             sure you leave your number with us for I know we will be 
             reaching out to you for your advice and thoughtful 
             suggestions in the days to come. That is one thing that 
             will never change.

               Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
             the order from September 27 regarding tributes to retiring 
             Senators be modified so that Senators be permitted to 
             submit such tributes for inclusion in a Senate document 
             until Friday, December 12, 2008.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.
                                               Monday, December 8, 2008
               Mr. ALEXANDER. ... With the departures of Ted Stevens 
             and two other Senators of whom I have already spoken--Pete 
             Domenici and John Warner--the Senate loses more than 100 
             years of service. More than that, this country loses three 
             men whose view of America was rooted in the last years of 
             World War II and the remarkable ascendancy of our country 
             since then. Looking around the Senate, it will be 
             difficult to find many among those of us who remain with 
             the breadth of vision and old-fashioned patriotism that 
             these men have contributed.
                                              Tuesday, December 9, 2008
               Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, when the Senate convenes next 
             January, it is difficult to accept that Senator Domenici 
             will not be here.
               This son of an Italian immigrant grocer was elected to 
             the Senate in 1972, making him the first Republican in 
             nearly 40 years to be elected to the Senate from the great 
             State of New Mexico. He is now the longest serving Senator 
             in the history of New Mexico.
               In the Senate, he established himself as an expert on 
             fiscal policies and the intricacies of the Federal budget. 
             Having served with Senator Domenici on the Appropriations 
             and Budget Committees, I have come to know and respect him 
             not only as a dear friend and colleague, but also as a 
             formidable opponent. Senator Domenici and I have clashed 
             swords many times on the Senate floor, and, believe me, 
             when you clashed with him, you would have the fight of 
             your life. He has one of the sharpest minds on Capitol 
             Hill. He is one of the most knowledgeable people on the 
             budget on Capitol Hill. And he is always prepared.
               Oh, how I regret that he will be leaving us all too 
             soon. But I would like to use this opportunity to thank 
             the senior Senator from New Mexico for his wonderful 
             service and to congratulate him on an outstanding career 
             in the Senate.
               Thank you, Senator Domenici, for all your work for your 
             State, and our country. And, thank you, Pete, for being a 
             friend.
                                            Thursday, December 11, 2008
               Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I would like to pay tribute 
             to the senior Senator from New Mexico, a dedicated public 
             servant, a respected lawmaker, and a man I am proud to 
             call my colleague, Pete Domenici.
               From his first days in the Senate in the 93d Congress, 
             to now 35 years later, Senator Domenici has earned a 
             reputation as a powerful champion for New Mexico. While he 
             and I have not agreed on some issues, I have never 
             questioned his commitment to do what he believed was right 
             for this country and the State of New Mexico. However, I 
             might question which of our Italian grandmothers made a 
             better meatball, but then again I wouldn't want a fight to 
             break out here on the Senate floor.
               Senator Domenici has too many accomplishments to list 
             here today. Senator Domenici has had a long and 
             distinguished career in the U.S. Senate. However what 
             stands out most to me is his unending drive to enact 
             mental health parity legislation which he worked on so 
             closely with our late colleague Paul Wellstone. I believe 
             it was a fitting tribute to enact this legislation in the 
             closing days of the 110th Congress.
               I know it can sound repetitive when people hear Senators 
             make remarks such as these about our colleagues as they 
             are leaving the Senate. But I think it is important for 
             the public to know that despite all the squabbling that 
             goes on in Washington, there is the deep respect, 
             affection, and caring that goes on among the Members of 
             this body. After an incredible 36 years of service to New 
             Mexico the United States is grateful, and I consider 
             myself fortunate to have served 33 years with Pete 
             Domenici in the U.S. Senate. Marcelle and I wish Pete and 
             Nancy the best.
                                              Friday, December 12, 2008

               Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to honor an 
             undeniable, universally acknowledged legend of the U.S. 
             Senate, an outstanding public servant who has been a 
             legislative master of this institution and its most 
             labyrinthine but pivotal and influential procedures, and a 
             U.S. Senator who, with passion and verve, brilliantly 
             grasped the complex nuances of legislation without losing 
             the broader perspective driving the national issues of the 
             day. I am referring, of course, to the senior Senator from 
             New Mexico, Pete Domenici.
               In his 36 years serving the people of New Mexico in this 
             venerable institution, Senator Domenici embraced and 
             confronted the most difficult or consequential of matters 
             regardless of opposition or the complexity of the subject. 
             Indeed, Mr. President, as our country faces myriad 
             challenges, it is with a heavy heart that we lose not only 
             an exceptional colleague and friend to many of us, but one 
             of the Senate's finest legislators.
               I had the distinct privilege of witnessing Pete 
             Domenici's sterling leadership and political acumen first 
             hand when he chaired the Senate Committee on the Budget 
             from 1995 to 2002 in three successive Congresses. Having 
             been a member on the House Budget Committee, I can tell 
             you that serving on the Senate Budget Committee during 
             Pete's chairmanship represented a magnificent opportunity 
             for a freshman Senator--not to mention the fact that Pete 
             empathized with me as he had been offered a seat on the 
             committee as a freshman Senator as well.
               Although Pete was quoted as saying that he joined the 
             committee in 1973 ``because it was available to me as a 
             freshman, when other committees were not,'' history will 
             show that the Senate Budget Committee, the U.S. Senate, 
             and the country were all well served because of Pete 
             Domenici's undaunted command of the budget process and the 
             esteem and respect with which he was held by his 
             colleagues.
               As I joined the Senate Budget Committee in 1995 with 
             Chairman Domenici at the helm, we worked hand in glove to 
             reprioritize our Federal budget, instill greater fiscal 
             discipline, and pass a balanced budget for the first time 
             in 26 years. Success was going to require dedication and 
             pragmatism or in Pete's words, ``guts.''
               I well recall standing on the floor of the Senate as we 
             were debating the budget resolution, and, referencing 
             Winston Churchill's famous remark, I said:

               I feel we finally have reached the ``end of the 
             beginning'' of what I hope will eventually be known as the 
             first 7-year budget to reach a balance in over a 
             generation.

               And the force behind that legislative and budgetary 
             milestone was the Senator we honor today, Pete Domenici. 
             The ramifications of our work on that budget resolution, 
             along with our strong bipartisan 92 to 8 victory on the 
             1997 Balanced Budget Act, represent a historic template 
             for how this institution tackles budgetary issues today 
             and likely will in the future.
               However, what has resonated the most through the years--
             and what is certainly one of the crowning hallmarks of his 
             monumental legacy--is how Pete reminded us that the Senate 
             can indeed achieve resolution by bridging the partisan 
             divide and forsaking polarizing acrimony in favor of 
             substantive action advancing the public good.
               Senator Domenici brought this same constancy of purpose 
             and tireless commitment to the common good to his advocacy 
             for mental health parity in health care coverage. 
             Vigorously working across the aisle with Senators 
             Wellstone and Kennedy, Senator Domenici demonstrated that 
             building bipartisan coalitions based on common objectives 
             and good will was not only possible but fundamental to 
             creating good policy.
               As Senator Domenici made his compelling case against the 
             inequality of mental health care to the White House and to 
             each Member of the Senate, his personal history with the 
             disease was conveyed in a manner that could not have been 
             more poignant and powerful. The story of Clare, Senator 
             Domenici's daughter, mirrors that of millions of Americans 
             afflicted with a mental health disorder, and Senator 
             Domenici courageously recognized that he was uniquely 
             positioned to help shepherd the message that health care 
             coverage should not financially discriminate on the basis 
             of this disease.
               Although Senator Wellstone characterized his partnership 
             with Senator Domenici as ``an odd couple,'' where their 
             political philosophies diverged, their common allegiance 
             to making a difference paved the way for enormous strides 
             that engendered an effective bond. And with stately 
             leadership, Senator Domenici and Senator Kennedy rallied 
             the Senate, which at that point had mourned the tragic 
             loss of Senator Wellstone, to action, passing the Mental 
             Health Parity Act which the President signed into law. 
             Once again, Mr. President, Senator Domenici confounded the 
             status quo and fought for meaningful change.
               I believe we ought to have more, not fewer, ``odd 
             couples'' and alliances in the Senate, given that 
             compromise and conciliation are the true and necessary 
             lifelines to achieving real results. To that end, my hope 
             is that the Domenici-Wellstone-Kennedy example will 
             constitute a model for generations to come of 
             bipartisanship and comity. And I couldn't have been more 
             pleased, having been a longtime leader on this issue 
             myself, to work in accord with Senator Domenici in 
             bringing this matter to fruition in the 110th Congress.
               Last, I cannot help but applaud Senator Domenici for his 
             indispensable role in championing the 2005 Energy Policy 
             Act. And while we had some differences on policy, once 
             again, true to his relentless work ethic, his can-do 
             optimism, and dogged determination, what was most 
             conspicuously vital and on display was Senator Domenici's 
             pragmatism in crafting this legislation.
               Advancing this measure required Senator Domenici to 
             compromise with his own colleague from New Mexico, Senator 
             Bingaman. Yet they sought, found, and maximized the common 
             denominators that would, in the end, allow this bill to be 
             signed into law. It stands as an enduring testament to 
             Senator Domenici that the final energy bill in 2005 passed 
             with 71 votes, and Congress took a serious step forward in 
             addressing our energy crisis.
               Time and again, Senator Domenici has placed legislative 
             performance above political posturing, and a desire for 
             concrete results above the din of discord and rancor. And 
             in the process, Senator Domenici leaves a formidable 
             legacy of establishing the standard for facilitating the 
             budget process, providing mental health parity for 
             millions of Americans, and forging a critical first step 
             toward altering the course of our long-dormant energy 
             policy.
               For well more than three decades, this institution has 
             been blessed to have among our ranks one of the giant 
             legislators of his generation and our time, and we will 
             miss you Pete and all you brought to the Senate, to public 
             service, and to the people of New Mexico. As the son of 
             Italian immigrants, who worked in your father's wholesale 
             grocery business, and who would later become a minor 
             league baseball pitcher, math teacher, lawyer, and then a 
             legendary Senator--you truly exemplify the very best of 
             the American story and dream. To Nancy and the entire 
             Domenici family, thank you for sharing Pete with us and 
             our country. We are all the better for knowing him, 
             working with him, and calling him our colleague and 
             friend.
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