Hello, everyone. I hope this month's newsletter finds you well. Time is passing quickly, and suddenly the holidays are upon us. Nancy and I certainly look forward to spending quality time with our family and friends over these next few months. In this issue of the Domenici Report, Nancy is sharing a bit about our family Thanksgiving celebrations.

The Senate is back in session, with the goal of getting as much as we can done during this "lame duck" session. My goals include getting the FY2007 Energy and Water appropriations bill, which funds all the DOE programs and labs, to the floor as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued interest; as always I will continue to do all I can to support my great constituents back home.

Sincerely,

It was with great pride that we spent part of Veteran's Day this year welcoming home some of our New Mexico neighbors returning from Iraq, including the 116th Transportation Company.

The 116th includes New Mexicans with the National Guard who served as full-time soldiers to support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They've been away from home for a year, but they will be spending Thanksgiving with their loved ones in places like Raton and Springer. They recently received the heroes welcome they deserved from hundreds of New Mexicans.

November is the month for us to salute these men and women who put on a uniform to fight for our country. As we commemorate their service, we also recall the brave New Mexicans who have given their lives in service to their country over the years.

We honor this month those who serve in our Armed Forces and those who keep the home fires burning-because you make up a country that we want to fiercely protect.

The veterans who served their country

during World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf learned lessons about character they brought home. They have served as examples for us and inspired future generations.

William L. Rice of Williamsburg is one of those New Mexicans, and it was my great pleasure earlier this year to present him with Purple Heart military honors for his patriotism.

Rice served with the Aircraft Squadron VC-38 in the Solomon Islands during World War II. He was injured when his plane crash landed following a bombing mission. Rice was in the hospital for months, but returned to battle for the rest of the war. In the race to end that war, he never received the honors he earned.

It took 62 years to bestow the honors Rice so richly deserves, but I am proud my office was able to get Rice his long awaited medal.

The men and women who take care of us and protect us are great New Mexicans and great patriots. They deserve our focus this month, and as we head into the holiday season.

Thanksgiving has always been a great time for family, friends, and home cooked food. Over the years, our family has expanded all over the country, so Pete and I look forward to the holidays to reconnect with loved ones, especially our grandchildren who we love to have around. After our meal, we'll finish the day by playing games like charades and cards, and, of course watch some football!

I've included one of our favorite recipes, one I have yet to burn. Pete and I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, and our thoughts and prayers will be with our brave soldiers and their families.

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the New Mexico Young Researchers Reception, which celebrated programs that target young people who are interested in math and science. We've got some great programs in our state that reach out to students who are excelling in science, technology and engineering, including our New Mexico MESA, Supercomputing championships, and RoboRave.

To me, building up education in these areas is one of the most important missions in our country.

For this reason, I joined Senator Bingaman and others to introduce the Protecting America's Competitive Edge Act (PACE Act) S.2197, S. 2198, and S. 2199. Senate leadership has now combined provisions of the PACE Act with legislation produced by other Senate committees to produce a bipartisan, comprehensive bill called the National Competitiveness Investment Act S.3936.

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Pat McKernan was very dear to me for many reasons, but I especially respected him for the annual Christmas party he threw for underprivileged kids. When the great Albuquerque Dukes manager died, the Character Counts Leadership Council decided to carry on the McKernan holiday tradition.

This is how the Character Counts "Cool Yule" holiday party at the New Mexico National Guard Armory in Albuquerque was born. This year we will celebrate Cool Yule on Saturday, Dec. 9.

Each year the various groups supporting Character Counts treat these children to a visit with Santa Claus, lunch, presents and games packed with special giveaways.

Albuquerque Public Schools teams with the YMCA of Central New Mexico and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Albuquerque to identify the families in need.

Many businesses including Meals on Wheels, Hinkle Family Fun Center, Univision Radio-just to name a few-donate the goods, services, and volunteers to help Santa and his elves give these kids a good party.

This year Sandia National Labs will assist in the toy drive so each of the 500 kids has something special for the holidays. KISS-FM will also sponsor toy drive remotes between Thanksgiving and Cool Yule on Dec. 9. Anyone with toys, gloves, mittens or treats to contribute can contact Joseph Gonzales at CoolYule2006@aol.com for more information on how you can help.

The smiles at each Cool Yule party could light up the world, and helping out can give everyone a chance to make a difference and make a lot of children very happy.

The holiday season gives us a chance to visit our loved ones, no matter where they are. If by chance your travels take you out of the country, you will want to make sure your passport is in order-particularly if you are applying for a new passport.

A passport is an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer. A valid United States passport is required to enter and leave most foreign countries-and those rules are about to change even for neighboring countries.

Travelers need to be aware of several impending changes to the passport system. Starting Jan. 8, 2007, all persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, a valid passport may be required of everyone traveling by land or sea between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. This includes ferries and cruise ship travel.

Congress could still extend the implementation time for these new passport requirements, but the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Both agencies intend to offer ample advance notice to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land and sea entries.

Only the U.S. Department of State has the authority to issue or verify U.S. passports, and these new rules make it even more important that travelers plan ahead and start the passport application process as early as possible.

To begin a passport application, you can start by going in person to a passport "acceptance facility" with two identical photographs of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a valid form of photo identification such as a driver's license and an accepted form of payment. Acceptance facilities include many federal, state and probate courts, U.S. Post Offices, some public libraries and a number of county and municipal offices.

You'll need to apply in person if: you are applying for a U.S. passport for the first time; your expired U.S. passport is not in your possession; your previous U.S. passport has expired and was issued more than 15 years ago; your previous U.S. passport was issued when you were under age 16; or your currently valid U.S. passport has been lost or stolen.

A helpful place to gather information on applying for a U.S. passport-including acceptance facilities near you and answers to frequently asked questions-visit the U.S. Department of State Passport Division website.

As always, if you come across any problems or need further assistance feel free to contact my office.

If you've got twenty bucks ---- a pickup-and a tank of gas----you can easily fetch up to five cords of wood from the national forests across New Mexico.

A great way to beat back winter fuel costs is by keeping the wood stove or fireplace stocked. Around the state, you can pick up wood already down and on the ground at various spots in the nation forests around the state.

For a listing of where to find permits, click here.

The type of permit, the time limits, the amount of wood you can collect, and other factors restrict the fuel wood permits, but in most places you still have plenty of time to stock up for blustery days ahead.

The Forest Service also has Christmas tree permits beginning around Thanksgiving. What a wonderful family activity-searching for and harvesting your own Christmas tree this year. Click on the forest near you.

People traveling New Mexico highways are accustomed to seeing antelope across the range. But between the San Augustine Pass and the White Sands National Monument, a much larger species roams the desert of White Sands Missile Range.

These are the oryx, animals introduced to New Mexico beginning in 1969, from herds originating from the Kalahari Desert in Africa. About 1,700 of them inhabit WSMR, and they are often seen off Highway 70 between Las Cruces and Alamogordo. Oryx are well suited to the arid desert of southern New Mexico, and have thrived at White Sands. The New Mexico Game and Fish Department, in cooperation with WSMR, issues a limited number of hunting permits for oryx every year.

For more information on the Orxy visit this link.