New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici is trying to
pave the way for a six-lane highway through the Petroglyph National
Monument in Albuquerque (HCN, 1/20/97). In March, Domenici attached
a rider to an emergency appropriations bill that allows the city to
extend the Paseo del Norte road through the 8.5-acre midsection of
the national monument – a monument he helped establish in
1990.
Domenici’s rider is “a sleazy Trojan horse
– the lowest of its kind in political shenanigans,” according to
Ike Eastvold, president of Friends of the Albuquerque Petroglyphs.
“It could end over 1,000 years of Pueblo Indian religious
practice.”
The rider does not mean the $13.5
million road will be built, but it authorizes Mayor Jim Baca and
the Albuquerque City Council to build it at their discretion. Baca
opposes the road extension, and argues that instead of reducing
traffic, it would worsen urban sprawl and “set a poor precedent for
the protection of our national monuments.” But eight of the nine
city council members support it and would likely override a Baca
veto.
In early March, Domenici had introduced a
free-standing bill in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, where it passed on a voice-vote. But President Clinton
promised a veto if the bill reached the oval
office.
Domenici was not worried. “Anybody who
thinks this bill is going to be killed by a veto just hasn’t lived
around here for a while,” he told the Albuquerque Journal. “It may
be on another bill that he (President Clinton) can’t help but
sign.”
Living up to his threat, Domenici dropped
the free-standing bill and piggy-backed the road authorization onto
the emergency appropriations bill, which earmarks funds for
peace-keeping efforts in Iraq and Bosnia. The bill should reach the
Senate floor in coming weeks. The House version of the bill does
not yet contain Domenici’s rider.
*JT
Thomas
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A road to ruins?.
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