Pete Domenici: “I think Senator Durbin, who serves on the Budget Committee, which I happen to chair, knows that on many matters I hold…”

“I think Senator Durbin, who serves on the Budget Committee, which I happen to chair, knows that on many matters I hold him in high esteem. As a matter of fact, I believe he is smiling a very gentle smile there as he sits back in his chair, and I guess he is going to listen now for a few minutes. I hope so. He would not disavow what I have just said. But he is wrong on this one. He is wrong in many ways. First, he would have done a wonderful job if he had left out the partisan speech at the end about this side of the aisle not being as concerned as our forefathers about the environment. Second, he showed some pictures of leases where one of the leaseholds had been abused and in some way tied that to the Domenici language or to his amendment. To do that is totally without an understanding of the ongoing authority of the BLM and the Forest Service, the twin agencies who are out there on our property. I say to the good Senator, the BLM does not find malfeasance on the part of ranchers only when they renew the lease every 10 years. As a matter of fact, they have total authority to enter upon the premise, inspect, and periodically recommend changes in the use that the rancher should make. They don't wait around until a drought year or until the 10-year permit has expired to go in and change the usage of the lessee.”