Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici (born May 7, 1932) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician, who served six terms as a
United States SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, from 1973 to 2009, the longest tenure in the state's history.
During Domenici's tenure in the Senate, he advocated waterway usage fees,
nuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
, and related causes. Domenici announced on October 4, 2007, his decision not to seek re-election to the
Senate in 2008The 2008 United States Senate election in New Mexico was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Pete Domenici decided to retire instead of seeking a seventh term. All three of New Mexico's U.S. Representatives chose to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives in order to...
for health reasons, in particular
frontotemporal lobar degeneration-Further reading:*Hodges, John R. The Frontotemporal Dementia Syndromes. Cambridge University Press. 2007 ISBN 978-0-521-85477-1-External links:****Mayo Clinic - **...
.
Domenici serves as a Senior Fellow at the
Bipartisan Policy CenterThe is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
, where he focuses on budget and nuclear energy issues.
Early years
Domenici was born in
Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, USA, to Italian-American parents Alda Vichi, an illegal immigrant, and Cherubino Domenici, who were born in Sorbarro,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Growing up, he worked in his father's grocery business after school. He graduated in 1950 from St. Mary's High School in Albuquerque. After earning a degree in education at the
University of New MexicoThe University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in 1954, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, he pitched for one season for the
Albuquerque DukesThe Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.-History:The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class-D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank Huelman was the league leader in home runs,...
, a
farm clubMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He taught
mathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at Garfield Junior High in Albuquerque. He earned his
lawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
degree at the
University of DenverThe University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
law schoolThe University of Denver Sturm College of Law is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado, and the only law school in the Denver metro area. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law is one of the first in America's Mountain West...
in 1958 and returned to practice law in Albuquerque.
After graduating, he married Nancy Burk. Together they have two sons and six daughters (Lisa, Peter, Nella, Clare, David, Nanette, and twins Paula and Helen). One of his daughters has
schizophreniaSchizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. This reportedly influenced his decision to become a strong supporter of legislation that calls for parity in insurance coverage for mental illness.
In 1966, Domenici successfully ran for a position on the Albuquerque City Commission and in 1968 was elected Commission Chairman. This position was equivalent to that of mayor under the structure of the city government at the time. Albuquerque since has changed to a popularly elected mayor position resulting from city wide balloting and a move beyond the internal appointment.
Domenici was unsuccessful in his 1970 attempt in New Mexico's governor's race, losing to Democrat Bruce King, 148,835 to 134,640.
Early Senate career
In 1972, Domenici successfully ran for a position in the
U.S. SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and became the first New Mexico Republican to be elected to the position in 38 years. He was aided by his Hispanic-sounding surname with many New Mexico voters and the
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
landslide win over Democrat U.S. Sen. George McGovern at the top of the ticket. Domenici polled 204,253 votes (54 percent) to 173,815 (46 percent) for Hobbs real estate company owner Democrat
Jack DanielsJack Daniels was a Democratic New Mexico state representative. He ran unsuccessfully for the governorship in 1970, and for the United States Senate in 1972....
.
One of the first issues that Pete Domenici concerned himself with was waterway usage fees in spite of his state lacking any waterway capable of commercial traffic. The idea behind a waterway usage fee was that the Army Corps of Engineers built dams and other expensive waterway projects, which the barge industry got to use for free. A waterway usage fee would charge the users of waterways with a fee that would then be spent on upkeep and the construction of more waterways. In 1977, Domenici set himself to the task of enacting a waterway usage fee. After a long two-year battle with stiff lobbying on both sides, the waterway fee was finally passed along with a new lock and dam project (the rebuilding of Lock and Dam 26.) Reporters attributed the passage of this fee to, in no small part, Domenici's legislative skill. The legislation was signed by President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in 1978.
The issue greatly assisted Domenici at home, where the railroad industry was big (railroads competed with barges, and they long wanted to end the "free ride" issue.) The railroads donated $40,000 to Domenici's campaign, and the barge industry gave a small sum to his opponent. He was reelected in 1978 with 53.4% of the vote over Democrat Toney Anaya, a former New Mexico Attorney General. The 6.8% victory margin would be Domenici's closest election in his Senate career.
Later Senate years
Domenici was subsequently re-elected in 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002 and is the longest-serving senator in his state's history. At the time of his retirement, he was the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. He was also a member of the U.S. Senate Committees on Appropriations and Indian Affairs, and served as Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Budget Committee. He advocated for the mentally ill, having pushed the
Mental Health Parity ActThe Mental Health Parity Act is legislation signed into United States law on September 26, 1996 that requires that annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental health benefits be no lower than any such dollar limits for medical and surgical benefits offered by a group health plan or health insurance...
of 1996.
Domenici has been an avid proponent of
nuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and has published two books on the subject:
"A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy" (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004), which he wrote; and
"Advanced Nuclear Technologies — Hearing Before the Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate" (Collingdale, Pennsylvania: D I A N E Publishing Company, 1999), which he edited.
Committee Assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Energy (Ex Officio)
- Subcommittee on National Parks (Ex Officio)
- Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests (Ex Officio)
- Subcommittee on Water and Power (Ex Officio)
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery
- Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration
- Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
- Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
- Committee on the Budget
- Committee on Indian Affairs
Department of Justice controversy
Prior to the 2006 midterm election Domenici called and pressured then-United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico
David IglesiasDavid Claudio Iglesias is an American attorney from Albuquerque, New Mexico.He was appointed by President George W. Bush as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico in August 2001 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2001. He served for 6 years. He was one of eight U.S...
to speed up indictments in a federal corruption investigation that involved at least one former Democratic state senator. When Iglesias said an indictment would not be handed down until at least December, Domenici said "I'm very sorry to hear that" — and the line went dead. Domenici's telephone manners were the subject of a later article in
The Albuquerque Journal-History:Its earliest predecessor, the Albuquerque Daily Journal, was first published on October 14, 1880. The newspaper is owned by the Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business headed by president/publisher T.H. Lang; it is operated by the Albuquerque Publishing Company...
, which quoted numerous other sources whom Domenici had treated rudely by hanging up after making a point or receiving an unsatisfactory answer. Iglesias was fired a little over one month later by the Bush Administration. A communication by a senator or House member with a federal prosecutor regarding an ongoing criminal investigation is a violation of ethics rules. In a March 2007 statement, Domenici admitted making such a call. House Judiciary Committee Chairman
John ConyersJohn Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, D-Mich., issued subpoenas to require Iglesias and three other ousted U.S. attorneys to testify before Congress.
Domenici later admitted calling Iglesias, though Domenici claimed he never used the word "November" when he called Iglesias about an ongoing Albuquerque courthouse corruption case. Domenici has denied trying to influence Iglesias, and has hired lawyer K. Lee Blalack II to represent him.
According to the Justice Department, Domenici called the Department and demanded Iglesias be replaced on four occasions.
According to
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, on the day of the firing (December 7, 2006) William Kelley, a deputy to then
White House CounselThe White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States.-Role:The Counsel's role is to advise the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House...
Harriet MiersHarriet Ellan Miers is an American lawyer and former White House Counsel. In 2005, she was nominated by President George W. Bush to be an Associate Justice of the U.S...
, said in an email that Domenici's chief of staff was "happy as a clam" about the Iglesias firing. A week later, a Justice Department email to the White House counsel stated: "Domenici is going to send over names tomorrow (not even waiting for Iglesias's body to cool)."
On April 24, 2008, Domenici was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for "inappropriately" contacting in 2006 one of the nine U.S. attorneys later fired by President Bush.
The light punishment came after the committee found “no substantial evidence” that Domenici tried to influence attorney David Iglesias when he contacted him to inquire about the status of a 2006 investigation into corruption charges on a state Democratic official. A possible indictment could have buoyed the re-election hopes of Rep.
Heather WilsonHeather A. Wilson , is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing from 1998 to 2009...
(R-N.M.), who was seeking to replace Domenici when the senator retires after his current term. Iglesias charged that Domenici and Wilson were pressuring him to wrap up the investigation before that November’s elections, a violation of ethics rules.
The Ethics Committee said that Domenici’s phone call to Iglesias, in advance of an upcoming election, “created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate”. In July 2010, Department of Justice prosecutors closed the two-year investigation without filing charges after determining that the firing was inappropriately political, but not criminal, saying "Evidence did not demonstrate that any prosecutable criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of David Iglesias. The investigative team also determined that the evidence did not warrant expanding the scope of the investigation beyond the removal of Iglesias." Domenici said of the closed investigation, "The Justice Department has now confirmed what I have always said and believed: I never attempted to interfere with any government investigation. I am glad that this matter has concluded."
Environmental record
The grassroots organization Republicans for Environmental Protection singled out Domenici as “Worst in the Senate in 2006” on environmental issues. In addition to assigning Domenici a score of zero for his environmental voting record, the group issued him “environmental harm demerits” for what they saw as two particularly irresponsible acts: first, for spearheading efforts to include in federal budget legislation provisions for “speculative revenues from oil drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife RefugeThe Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
; second, “for sponsoring and securing passage of S. 3711, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which would perpetuate America’s dangerous oil dependence, set a precedent for drilling in sensitive marine waters, and direct a disproportionate share of federal royalty revenues from a public resource to four states.”
Domenici also received an exceptionally low environmental rating from the nonpartisan
League of Conservation VotersThe League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
, who claimed in 2003 that “[d]uring the last decade his voting record has become even more strikingly anti-environmental.” The LCV went on to criticize Domenici for voting in 1995 “to allow mining companies to ‘patent’ (purchase) public lands in order to extract minerals from them, without environmental standards, for the ridiculously low ‘price’ of $5 an acre or less.”
Electoral history
2002 New Mexico United States Senatorial Election
- Pete Domenici (R) (inc.), 65%
- Gloria Tristani (D), 35%
1996 New Mexico United States Senatorial Election
- Pete Domenici (R) (inc.), 64%
- Art Trujillo (D), 30%
1990 New Mexico United States Senatorial Election
- Pete Domenici (R) (inc.), 72.9%
- Tom R. Benavides (D), 27.1%
1984 New Mexico United States Senatorial Election
- Pete Domenici (R) (inc.), 71.9%
- Judith A. Pratt (D), 28.1%
1978 New Mexico United States Senatorial Election
- Pete Domenici (R) (inc.), 53.4%
- Toney Anaya
Toney Anaya is a U.S. Democratic politician who was born in Moriarty, New Mexico. He went to undergraduate school at Georgetown University and graduated with a law degree from American University's Washington College of Law in 1967...
(D), 46.6%
1972 New Mexico United States Senatorial Election
- Pete Domenici (R), 54%
- Jack Daniels
Jack Daniels was a Democratic New Mexico state representative. He ran unsuccessfully for the governorship in 1970, and for the United States Senate in 1972....
(D), 46%
Debt Reduction Task Force
Domenici and former OMB director and CBO director Dr.
Alice RivlinAlice Mitchell Rivlin is an economist, a former U.S. Cabinet official, and an expert on the budget. She has served as the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and the first Director of the Congressional Budget Office...
are chairing a Debt Reduction Task Force, sponsored by the
Bipartisan Policy CenterThe is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
in Washington. The task force was announced at a joint press conference on January 26, 2010, in Washington. The task force began its work in February 2010 and, led by Domenici, released a report on November 17, 2010 on ways to address and reduce the national debt and deficit.
See also
- Sen. Domenici introduced legislation that will establish a Clean Energy Bank
Clean Energy Bank , also called Clean Energy Investment Bank, is a proposed federal government corporation of the United States to assist in the financing, and facilitate the commercial use, of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies within the United States.The CEB could be created...
.
- Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
, sponsored by Senator Domenici and Representative Joe BartonJoseph Linus "Joe" Barton is a Republican politician, representing in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1985, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus...
.
- New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
's Domenici InstituteThe Domenici Institute is a public policy institute at New Mexico State University named after retired Sen. Pete Domenici, New Mexico’s longest-serving senator. Each year, the institute holds its Domenici Public Policy Conference, which brings together some of the best minds in the country to focus...
.
- Monsignor Peter Vaghi
Peter Vaghi is an American Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and former lawyer associated with several noted American jurists. He is pastor of the in Bethesda, Maryland. He was previously pastor of the historic in Washington, D.C....
, a former staffer of Senator Domenici's, now a Catholic prelateA prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
.
External links