[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9966-S9967]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SENATOR PETE DOMENICI

  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 14-3 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 mayor 
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, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
received its first application last year for a nuclear powerplant in 29 
years.
  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 coauthored 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 coauthor 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 the 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

[[Page S9967]]

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.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.

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