Domenici Wades Into Heinrich-Wilson Race

Former Sen. Pete Domenici is taking aim at Rep. Martin Heinrich in a television ad that accuses the Albuquerque-based congressman of supporting legislation that would cut 20,000 jobs in New Mexico.

Domenici appears in the ad in behalf of former Rep. Heather Wilson, a Republican who is challenging Heinrich for the U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico.

“Martin Heinrich voted for massive defense cuts that will cost New Mexicans 20,000 jobs,” the former Republican senator and Budget Committee chairman says in the ad. “I know Heather Wilson, and we can trust her to protect these jobs and protect this nation. She’s an independent, experienced leader to see us through these difficult times.”

Heinrich’s campaign called the accusation false and said it distorts his record.

The legislation Domenici refers to in the ad would not directly eliminate jobs in New Mexico, but could result in job losses if Congress fails to reach a deficit-reduction deal by the end of the year, according to an analysis done at the University of New Mexico.

The bill stemmed from a congressional stalemate on increasing the nation’s debt limit and avoiding a default. The legislation adopted by Congress, with Heinrich in support, established so-called “sequestration” rules that would reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion absent the budget deal.

The cuts would apply to defense and nondefense spending in coming decade. Reps. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Steve Pearce, R-N.M., both voted against the bill establishing sequestration rules, which passed the House and Senate and was signed into law. Heinrich voted for it. New Mexico Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, both Democrats, also voted for the sequestration measure.

Heinrich has said since that he hopes Congress can reach a deal to avoid sequestration but that reining in the federal debt is important.

In a statement after his August 2011 vote, Heinrich said, “It’s a necessary compromise to prevent a disastrous default by the federal government. I am not willing to allow New Mexicans to pay the high price of that outcome.”

Heinrich spokeswoman Whitney Potter said Thursday, “The idea that Martin would vote to cut 20,000 jobs in New Mexico is ridiculous, and Congresswoman Wilson knows that.”

Domenici, who retired from the Senate after 36 years in 2008, is a longtime political mentor of Wilson.

A federal analysis of the debt deal found that if Congress and the Obama administration can’t agree on a long-term, deficit-cutting plan it could slash nearly $400 million for nuclear work in New Mexico next year.

The analysis, by the Office of Management and Budget, suggests a risk of cuts of more than 9 percent beginning Jan. 2 for nuclear weapons work at Sandia and Los Alamos national labs and radioactive waste handling at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a disposal site near Carlsbad.

Lee Reynis, head of the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, and colleagues conducted an analysis of the sequestration bill last year and found that, if enacted, the cuts could cost about 20,000 New Mexicans their jobs.

Part of that would come through direct job losses at places like Los Alamos and Sandia, and part would come through indirect job losses as federal spending throughout the state’s economy shrinks.
— This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal