Domenici, Peter Vichi (1932-2017), a Republican from New Mexico, was a member of the United States Senate from 1973 to 2009. Domenici served as chair of the Senate’s powerful Budget Committee from 1981 to 1987 and from 1995 to 2001. As Budget chairman, he worked on legislation to eliminate the federal budget deficit.
Domenici was born in Albuquerque on May 7, 1932. His father, a grocer, had immigrated to the United States from Italy. Peter Domenici earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico in 1954 and a law degree from the University of Denver in 1958. He began to practice law in Albuquerque in 1958.
In 1966, Domenici was elected to the Albuquerque City Commission. He served as chair of the commission, an office similar to that of mayor, in 1967. In 1970, he ran for governor of New Mexico but lost.
Domenici was elected to his first term in the U.S. Senate in 1972. He took office in 1973. As a senator, Domenici worked on issues ranging from mental illness to energy independence—that is, reducing U.S. dependence on oil from foreign sources by increasing the domestic production of energy. Domenici also became known for his success in bringing federal funding to New Mexico for the state’s laboratories and military bases. In 2007, Domenici said he had been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease. He did not seek reelection in 2008, and he retired when his term ended in January 2009. Domenici died on Sept. 13, 2017.
