Pete Domenici: “it is obvious that I am two things tonight. First, I am very happy and I am very tired. I do not know which one I am…”

“it is obvious that I am two things tonight. First, I am very happy and I am very tired. I do not know which one I am more of, but I am both. I am sure there are many who think differently than I. I hope in the Senate there is an overwhelming number who think as I do. There will be some who do not. But after 6 years of effort in the Senate, and for a time period going back about 15 years, we have not had an energy policy program of any significance for the United States of America. When I say 6 years, we have been struggling for 6 years to get a current one, and 4 of those years we have produced them and they have failed. I have not been part of all of that, but I left the Budget Committee, the Senate might recall, after many years, with 2 years remaining to be there. That would have made my 30th year on the Budget Committee, and I still would have been chairman. I left it because this would be a nice challenge, and I thought maybe during the 6 years, as chairman of this committee, I might be party to putting together a bill that might do something about America's energy future. Everybody should know that the Senator from New Mexico knew that we would not do anything for tomorrow, nothing much. We would not have any answers for people who said, what are you going to do tomorrow morning or next week on the gasoline prices?…”