[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12699-S12701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SENATOR DOMENICI'S RETIREMENT

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, we have all seen the news that our 
friend and colleague, Pete Domenici, is planning to announce today that 
he will retire from the Senate at the conclusion of his term. Senator 
Domenici called me yesterday afternoon to tell me of this decision. My 
reaction was one of surprise first, and then that gave way to 
admiration and appreciation for this man's decision to conclude his 
distinguished career of public service on his own terms.
  He and his wife Nancy are traveling to Albuquerque this morning for 
the announcement this afternoon. This is a great gesture to the people 
of New Mexico, and in New Mexico the Domenicis will be greeted with the 
affection and respect which they richly deserve.

[[Page S12700]]

  When I arrived in the Senate in 1983, Pete Domenici was then a 10-
year veteran of this place, and he was here to welcome me at that time. 
In his 34 years in the Senate, Pete has earned a reputation as a fierce 
and effective 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 our State and for this country.
  Today, and during his entire Senate career, Pete has achieved what 
all of us try to achieve; that is, to be effective in getting results 
in Washington, while also staying close to the people who have sent us 
here to represent them.
  Pete and I, of course, have worked together on many issues and 
projects, but our most productive collaboration has been on the Energy 
and Natural Resources Committee. For the last few years, he has been 
the most senior Republican, and I have been the most senior Democrat. 
In the last Congress, when Pete was chairman of the committee and I was 
the ranking Democrat, we were able to secure passage of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005. Pete deserves substantial credit for the passage of 
that important legislation.
  Senator Domenici's announcement today is not, I am glad to say, that 
he is leaving the Senate at this time. His announcement will be that he 
will serve out his term, but he will not stand for reelection to 
another term. He has assured me that he expects the remaining 15 months 
of his service in the Senate to be productive and, knowing Pete, I am 
sure they will be.
  There will be time later for valedictories. For today, we will listen 
to Senator Domenici's announcement and send our thanks and best wishes 
to him and to Nancy.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to one of our most 
distinguished Senior Senators, and a personal friend of mine, Pete 
Domenici of New Mexico, who yesterday announced he will retire at the 
end of this Congress.
  The son of Italian immigrants, Senator Domenici has accomplished many 
things in his long and distinguished career. Growing up in Albuquerque, 
he worked in his father's wholesale grocery business. After earning a 
degree in education from the University of New Mexico in 1954, he 
pitched for the Albuquerque Dukes, a farm club of the old Brooklyn 
Dodgers. He left baseball to be a teacher, and then earned a law degree 
in 1958.
  Senator Domenici's life of public service began in 1966, when he was 
elected to the Albuquerque City Commission. In 1972, he was elected to 
the United States Senate, where he has served with dedication and 
distinction ever since. Pete Domenici was my home State Senator when I 
clerked for the New Mexico Supreme Court. At the time, I never thought 
that one day I would have the privilege of calling myself a colleague 
of Senator Domenici.
  Pete has been a tireless champion for the public land states of the 
West. He understands the challenges facing an arid climate, including 
water resources management in the face of drought and the conflicts 
over water allocation, as well as public lands management and issues 
relating to resource extraction, forest health and grazing.
  Pete has worked tirelessly to ensure that our Nation has the energy 
resources it will need to meet the growing demand well into the 21st 
century. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides the incentives and the 
Federal support required to meet these future energy needs. It also 
encourages energy efficiency and conservation, as well as the 
development of clean, non-emitting resources.
  When I was first elected to the Senate, I served on the Budget 
Committee, which was then chaired by Pete Domenici. I could not have 
asked for a better mentor on the complex issues related to the Federal 
budget process. I also served on the Energy Committee, where Pete has 
been both Chairman and Ranking Member.
  Senator Domenici has also been a stalwart leader and champion in the 
battle to provide persons with mental illness equal access to health 
care services. In 1996, Senator Domenici teamed with then-Senator Paul 
Wellstone to pass the first Federal law intended to help persons with 
mental illness acquire protections and access to care.
  Fortunately, Senator Domenici understood that more could and should 
be done. So it was with pleasure I was able to work with him to craft 
S. 558, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007, which has passed the 
Senate. This bill will help ensure that insurance companies begin 
treating illnesses of the mind on the same level as illnesses of the 
body.
  I also want to acknowledge his work to help protect Federal programs 
serving our citizens who battle mental illness. He has, over the years, 
authored and supported policies improving Medicare and Medicaid for 
persons living with these diseases. His compassion and leadership will 
be greatly missed by the mental health community, and I personally will 
miss his insight and knowledge in the U.S. Senate.
  In closing, let me wish you and your wife Nancy the very best on your 
retirement and return to your beloved State, New Mexico.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is with sadness that I speak about my 
friend, the senior Senator from New Mexico, Pete Domenici, who will 
announce later today he will not seek a seventh term and will return, 
instead, to his beloved New Mexico at the end of this Congress.
  Pete was born to Alda and Cherubino Domenici, and he has never 
forgotten where he came from and what he was sent here to do by the 
people of his State. He grew up learning about the value of hard work 
as an employee each afternoon in his father's wholesale grocery 
business while attending school in Albuquerque during the day. At the 
University of New Mexico, Pete found an early calling for public 
service and earned a degree in education. He was a remarkable athlete 
as well and became a pitcher, briefly, for the Albuquerque Dukes, the 
farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and then taught math at junior high 
school while he earned his law degree.
  In 1966, Pete was elected to the Albuquerque City Commission, where 
he served until he was elected to the Senate in 1972. He is now the 
longest serving Senator in New Mexico history. For some 35 years, he 
has been an outstanding colleague, admired and respected by all of us 
on both sides of the aisle.
  Pete will be remembered by all Americans as a brilliant and tireless 
champion for the rights of those with mental illness. His tenacity and 
commitment led, in 1996, to the passage of the first legislation to end 
discrimination against people with mental illness. More than anyone, 
Pete understood that such discrimination prevented vast numbers of 
people with mental illness from receiving the care and treatment and, 
frequently, the cure they deserved. Over the past 5 years, I have had 
the privilege of working closely with Pete to improve that original 
legislation. His passion and perseverance to achieve full equality in 
the covering of mental and physical illness has never wavered. The 
recent Senate passage of the Mental Health Parity Act is a tribute to 
Pete and the result of his extraordinary dedication and ability.
  I am sure Pete and Nancy thought long and hard about the decision to 
retire from the Senate and that it wasn't an easy choice to make. But I 
know they will have much more time to spend with their eight children 
and the wonderful people and breathtaking mountains of New Mexico. We 
are fortunate that we will have at least another year to work together 
on the issues we care so deeply about.
  As we prepare to say farewell to our great friend, I am reminded of 
the lines of the New Mexico State song:

     O, Fair New Mexico,
     We love, we love you so,
     Our hearts with pride o'reflow,
     No matter where we go.
     O, Fair New Mexico.

  No matter where Pete goes, we will always love and respect him, miss 
his leadership, his statesmanship and, most of all, his friendship.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Pryor). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

[[Page S12701]]

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I would like to proceed on my leader 
time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.

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