Pete Domenici Quotations

Hurricane Katrina exposed the harsh reality that we have been skating on thin ice when it comes to this country's energy concentrations on the Gulf Coast.

Instead of begging OPEC to drop its oil prices, lets use American leadership and ingenuity to solve our own energy problems.

There are going to be questions about what major oil companies are doing with all of the resources they're accumulating. They can't escape that.

I have said democracy and freedom do not work too well if you are hungry, if you are starving.

There are growing concerns that oil companies are making too much in profits at the expense of consumers.

Today's gasoline prices are taking a severe toll on Americans' pocketbooks. Consumers are anxious.

I expect an energy bill to increase and diversify supply and stabilize energy prices - not drive up energy costs in one part of the country to subsidize energy in another region.

I submit that those who run the American military at the top, and those whose boots are on the ground and who run the machinery and equipment, are sending a signal: You asked us to do something. Give us some time and we will solve the problems and we will do it.

Small business in America is booming. The job creator in America, small business, is absolutely moving ahead.

Obviously, overall infrastructure needs on the Southwest and Northern borders are mounting. We need a major push in Congress to remedy this.

We don't want crimes committed in New Mexico falling through the cracks. This legislation ensures that there is no area of our state where crimes can be committed without consequence.

We believe that if we don't do this, we have provided history with a wrong interpretation of this case. If there are no findings the president's obviously going to win, then the conclusion could very well be that he did nothing wrong, nothing whatsoever wrong,

Would we say the (oil) reserves in Texas are irrelevant? ... I don't think so.

We'll be back next year, ... We'll have another major tax cut without touching Social Security and we'll see where we go.

We won't have any answers if the question is what are you going to do tomorrow morning about gasoline prices.

The primary goal is to do ANWR. That remains the primary goal, ... But (opening more) offshore (drilling) is a prospect.

No one should kid themselves. This is not a budget that is going to have a significant impact on the fiscal policy of this country.

My constituents think somebody is rigging those prices and that they are getting ripped off.

My constituents, and actually most Americans, think that somebody rigs these prices. That in the process, somebody's getting ripped off, and they think it's them.

Nuclear power alone is not the solution to our energy woes, but can become a stronger component of an overall national energy policy, just as we must promote greater domestic oil and gas production, and yes, embrace greater conservation and renewable fuels. But we should be realistic in understanding that conservation and renewable fuels, which now only provide about 2 percent of our energy needs, will never get us to energy independence.

Now you know as well as I know that many of them are not going to do anything, but if a senator wants to offer them as a sense, not as legislation, they may do that,

Police officers need up-to-date equipment and better technology to stay safe on the job while fighting crime,

If we had put (Arctic drilling) in the bill, we wouldn't be here.

If we can find the offsets we'll go down to zero across-the- board,

If they have good jobs, we have to give them some kind of multi-year work permit that validates their presence here,

I don't believe we need an outside commission every time there is a problem in this country,

I am committed to working with the delegation, state and local leaders to ensure that data on Cannon is thoroughly analyzed and presented to the commission. I believe Cannon has a compelling case.

I am close to the position right now that if there are not across-the-board cuts I will not support the bill,

I am very discouraged when you add six new entitlement programs and at the same time, you are trying to say we are getting a budget under control,

Frankly, there is plenty of money in the federal budget for Social Security until the year 2037, ... Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.

If the American people paid attention tonight, they know that those who keep saying 'we can't afford a tax cut,' just don't want to give the money back to the American people,

We can have all the hearings we want but we're going to be running in each other's way pretty soon and so are all the Cabinet members,

The purpose of that hearing is make them understand that we and the American people are concerned about what appears to be an excessive amount of profit and excessive reserves,

to drill in a way that will not despoil the beauty, and we think that can be done.

Jack Lew (President Bill Clinton's budget director) and I just made the deal, ... ... The budget bill has been agreed to.

I think it's going to be very tough for them,

I think we ought to go right ahead and see if we can't move toward a budget resolution that does not take the CPI in to consideration,

I think the across-the-board budget cut is if we cannot find about $4 billion in savings any other way, then we'll look to that,

It is, in short, a great victory for the American people who are entitled to expect that their adult leaders work together.

Opening ANWR is sound public policy that would serve the country well many years into the future,

Our job is to make sure that one, price gouging, and two, unfair speculation and unconscionable profiteering does not take place, and especially that they do not take place as a result of the hurricane,

Some of these are hard steps to take, ... Hurricane Katrina has reminded us that we cannot escape these decisions.

long term solution to our nation's and New Mexico's water problems.

It does seem that our pre-eminence in physical sciences is simply no longer there,

I think he hit a home run, and he touched all the bases as he went around, and when he got to home plate, he got a big cheer,

I strongly recommend that we suggest to the administration that they quickly decide on some kind of an executive headquarters and chief recovery person so that all of this effort can be coordinated, ... We can have all the hearings and ideas we want, but we're going to be running in each other's way pretty soon, as are the Cabinet members.

That would mean that taxes would be at the highest level in 50 years, ... create dozens of new government programs running Washington, and it chooses bigger government instead of smaller government.

that will include the taxes for the president's marginal tax reductions ... and a rebate of the surplus, giving back to the people some of the surplus that exists this year.

Most important to those that wonder whether this is real, the appropriated accounts of our government will go up only one half a percent each year, and they will be implemented by enforceable, mandatory caps,

Most Americans and most of the polls show that our people have a growing suspicion that the oil companies are taking unfair advantage of the current market conditions to line their coffers with excess profits.

When the bell tolls ... we'll be able to say to senior citizens, 'We didn't touch Social Security,

Without a doubt this has been a failure of both individuals and institutions,

We've done our work. It's getting prepared, the final wrap up.

We need to have realistic expectations about how long we should expect high prices for natural gas, and we need to prepare for shortages,

The president has been promising us certain things, and the American people certain things, and this budget does the exact opposite, ... Fox News Sunday.

The president had to get some things that were truly his, we had to get some things that were truly ours. and clearly this tax package is one that we think is right. People with children are going to get a real tax cut. Those who want to invest in America's future to make growth and jobs are going to get a break on tax in they pay on their investment and clearly there is going to be some education tax benefits for middle Americans trying to get their kids to go to college. That's a good package.

The only reasons to vote will be yes or no on ANWR, not Medicare or anything else, so maybe the House will have the votes for it, as compared with a vote for a mixture.

The question is who spends the surplus, and the president has taken on almost a reckless approach to the facts,

We used to be the world's single biggest supplier. We're a big importer now so the time has come to add to the world's supply,

We believe the American people deserve a refund when they overpay their taxes. (Clinton) wants to keep all the money in Washington and give none back to overtaxed American families.

We ought to accept it as a major effort on the part of the president and say to the American people that we are willing to work from it,

we don't need to have somebody explain to us how the people of New Mexico think.

We can talk about who was one day late, who was 36 hours late. But the truth is, it was so big. I hope the people don't think one day, two days here or there, would've avoided the devastation.

We put tougher efficiency standards in the energy bill so we could get dramatic energy savings to the consumers faster, ... If we hadn't mandated new standards in the bill, the administrative process for raising these standards could have taken years.

We believe (Lease) 181 has to be done. It is the single most significant act to stabilize or possibly reduce the price of natural gas.

When you do the final assumptions, we will not have used Social Security trust fund money this year either. That'll be two years in a row,

Extending MILC in its current form is unacceptable, ... and I will oppose it vigorously.

We are asking that you give the president's plan a chance to be reviewed at the next level,

either to embarrass us or make us spend precisely what he wants, which is way too much.

bigger government in Washington (and) less money in the pockets of the taxpayers. I believe we're right on this one.

didn't indicate a preference one way or the other.

Does anybody think this president is not going to spend this surplus? It's almost like 'anything but tax cuts' seems to be what the motto is up here,

confusion, destruction, suffering, displacement and pollution that have affected hundreds of thousands of people across several states.

First thing we're going to do is, we're going to give most of that (surplus) back to the American people, as much as $600 billion,

There's got to be some understanding on their part that if we don't get some additional give in terms of restraining some expenditures and some reform, then we may have to be on our own, producing a budget that the President wouldn't like,

I've never heard of it for America and I don't have any idea about its relevance. Seems to me we don't have the refining capacity for that to occur, ... But I'm willing to look at it.

These 'sense of the Senate' resolutions should not really hold up the budget because they don't really affect the budget,

The state of Alaska has been waiting a long time to let the United States of America, which they're part of, share in their abundance of oil, and today we finally have said that it's time.

Our concern is the development of weapons from nuclear power and proliferation,

The oil companies owe the American people an explanation. Americans are facing painfully higher prices at the pump -- whether you think so or not, they think so.

the momentum is behind the simple more ... basic findings rather than the detailed ones.

Any oil company that is price gouging will find themselves in our witness chairs where they will be held accountable,

This giant reserve is going to be developed,

This budget proposes $148.2 billion in new spending or tax credits over the next four years, ... I believe these numbers are correct, and we need to make sure that everyone understands them as the starting point for debate by this Congress.

This is a document designed to help Al Gore win election.

Americans have been experiencing painfully high prices at the pump, ... Whether you think so or not, they think so.

there isn't any use talking, because the President's budget doesn't come out balanced and doesn't do anything of a permanent nature to help us solve this budget problem over the long term.

This loan will help improve telecommunication lines so that New Mexicans in these areas have greater business and educational opportunities,

This is a very, very unintelligible plan. You can't rationally accept the president's reasoning unless you conclude that they don't want to tell you where it's going to end up.

There's always that danger, ... they are small in number and not the kinds of things I am going to reveal.

It's a devil of a mystery. I don't have the right kind of feel for it yet.

It's a fair play amendment. It's a 'let's be considerate of a candidate who isn't rich' amendment,

It is time we come to rely on our own states, when they can produce oil for us,

It's not to my liking that we're here opposing each other.

It's the beginning of the end of the opposition,

It is very suspicious and cries out for a special prosecutor, of that there can be no doubt.

It's getting to where you can't avoid it,

It's pretty obvious that when we're finished, there'll be some kind of cigarette tax in the package,

It's unfortunate that millions of Californians have to sit in the dark before we, as a nation, begin taking a real look at all our options, including nuclear-generated electricity, for fulfilling our growing demands for more electricity and energy.

Designing and implementing a mandatory system (will) be very difficult both politically and economically. We can start somewhere and this conference is our starting point.