Pete V. Domenici's 36-year US Senate career was so broad that several tributes following his death on Sept. 13 gave short shrift to his work on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, particularly as chairman under one president and ranking minority member under another. So we'll start with some of what the committee's current chair, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas.), had to say.
"He shepherded two major energy bills into law with the same bipartisan spirit and tradition that continues at the committee today. He was also a champion of our national labs and nuclear energy, working to foster a 'nuclear renaissance' in this country. Pete was a statesman, a strong family man, and a man I was honored to call my friend."
The committee's leadership was unique from 2003 to 2008 because its leading Democrat, Jeff Bingaman, and its top Republican, Domenici, were both from New Mexico. The two senators worked well together, not just on home-state issues but also on broader energy matters, particularly the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPACT) and the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA).
Their party affiliations usually didn't seem to matter. One exception was during GOMESA's discussions, when Domenici supported a provision to provide a share of revenue and royalties to states and communities near federal offshore oil and gas operations to help pay for impacts. Bingaman opposed the idea because comparable assistance would not exist for state and local governments near federal onshore leases.
The committee's bipartisan cooperation tradition existed before they were its leaders. Murkowski and Ranking Minority Member Maria E. Cantwell (D-Wash.) are carrying it on now as they continue efforts to adjust policies from the 1970's and '80s that may no longer apply.
Domenici's nuclear energy advocacy was important, but EPACT probably was his greatest oil and gas legislative accomplishment. Its provisions included components dealing with natural gas market transparency, royalty relief for deepwater production, carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery, access to federal lands, ultradeepwater and onshore unconventional research and development, and alternative fuel incentives.
The initial RFS
It also marked the first appearance of a federal Renewable Fuel Standard, which established biofuel quotas for refiners and blenders as a way to help reduce crude oil imports from politically unstable countries. The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act increased these quotas.
After he retired from the Senate, Domenici helped establish the Bipartisan Policy Center, "back when it was little more than a small group of people with an outlandish idea about getting political opponents to talk to each other and hash out their differences," BPC Pres. Jason Grumet recalled. "Our Congress and our country need more Pete Domenicis."
