Oh, to be a fly on this wall. Retiring U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici , R-N.M., and Tom Udall, the Democrat who will replace him on Jan. 4, met today in Washington. Among the things they discussed, according to Domenici’s office, were Udall’s transition from the U.S. House to his new job.
“In particular, Domenici took the opportunity to share his hopes for the future of the (Department of Energy) national laboratories, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, bosque restoration, Character Counts education and other priority federal projects in the state,” Domenici’s news release states.
Funding for the labs has been a hot topic and one on which Domenici and Udall have strongly disagreed. Udall, saying the labs need to shift focus from nuclear weapons to alternative energy and other work, voted in 2007 for funding cuts at the labs, a House proposal that Domenici was instrumental in stopping.
This photo, provided by Domenici’s office, is of Udall, left, and Domenici greeting each other at the start of the meeting.