Chairman's Press
Lugar Calls for Repeal of Jackson-Vanik Trade Restrictions on Moldova
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar today introduced legislation, which would repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions on Moldovan products and provide impetus for closer U.S. strategic engagement with Moldova. "Moldova has been in compliance with Jackson-Vanik-related concerns for some time now, and repeal of this legislation will provide an important impetus for improving trade relations between the United States and Moldova and advancing Moldova's Western ambitions," Lugar said. Lugar al… Continue Reading
February 08, 2011
Lugar: Failure to Ratify Free Trade Agreements Costing Jobs
Sen. Dick Lugar announced today that "Americans, and especially Hoosiers, are already losing jobs due to the drop in exports to Colombia and Panama because the Obama Administration is not pushing hard enough for renewed free trade agreements with those South American countries." "Because of uncertainty over the future of these trade pacts, Indiana has already seen its exports to Panama drop 14 percent, and fall 12 percent with Colombia," Lugar said. According to the Indiana Business Research C… Continue Reading
January 28, 2011
Nunn-Lugar Update
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced the following progress in the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Programsince December. 10 submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) destroyed, 4 nuclear weapons transport train shipments and 61.6 metric tons of chemical weapons agent neutralized. In November 1991, Lugar (R-IN) and Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) authored the Nunn-Lugar Act, which established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. This program has provided U.S. funding and expertise to h… Continue Reading
January 24, 2011
Lugar Calls for “Highly Visible” Presidential Initiative on Energy Security
Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today called on the Obama Administration to shift its attention from the divisive issue of reducing carbon emissions to a comprehensive campaign to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. "The President should say unequivocally that the United States is going to achieve a particular goal or goals related to overcoming our oil dependence," Lugar told the 1st Annual Clean Energy Summit in Washington sp… Continue Reading
January 14, 2011
Lugar to appear on Bloomberg TV's Political Capital
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar is scheduled to appear on Bloomberg TV's Political Capital tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss China and other issues. Additional air times for the Bloomberg TV appearance include Saturday at 12 a.m., 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m.; Sunday at 12 a.m., 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 2 p.m. and on Monday at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.… Continue Reading
January 05, 2011
Lugar's Big Numbers
12,421 Days of Service in Congress12,587 Votes in the Senate98.2% Voting Attendance$5.2 Million Office Funds Returned When Indiana Senator Dick Lugar accompanies former Vice President Dan Quayle of Indiana to witness the swearing in of new Indiana Senator Dan Coats on the floor of the Senate in Washington today for the opening of the 112th Congress, Lugar will become the longest serving Member of Congress in Indiana history. Lugar, who is the most senior Republican in the Senate, will be servi… Continue Reading
December 22, 2010
New START Treaty Passes 71-26
Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the close of Senate debate on the New START Treaty: Mr. President, as the Senate approaches a point of decision on the New START Treaty, I would like to offer a few concluding thoughts. My attitudes towards the enterprise of arms control have been affected by the time I have spent during the last two decades visiting remote areas of Russia in an effort to bolster Nunn-Luga… Continue Reading
December 18, 2010
Senador Lugar vota a favor del proyecto de ley DREAM Act
El Senador Dick Lugar dio a conocer la siguiente declaración después de votar a favor de debatir el proyecto de ley DREAM Act. La moción fracasó 55 a 41. Se requerían sesenta votos. Hoy, voté en apoyo del Senado para debatir el proyecto de ley DREAM Act. Desafortunadamente, la moción fracasó. La ley Dream Act proveería a un grupo selecto de estudiantes que logran los mejores resultados un camino duro, pero justo para la residencia… Continue Reading
December 18, 2010
Lugar Opposes Repeal
Senator Dick Lugar issued the following statement today: Today I opposed legislation to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I opposed the bill because I am concerned about the impact of lifting "don't ask, "don't tell" on unit cohesion and combat effectiveness, particularly at a time when so many U.S. military personnel are engaged in combat-intensive missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy continues to be the subject of contentious deb… Continue Reading
December 18, 2010
Lugar Votes for DREAM Act
Senator Dick Lugar issued the following statement after voting in favor of debating the DREAM Act. The motion failed 55-41. Sixty votes were required. Today, I voted in support of the Senate taking up debate on the DREAM Act. Unfortunately, the motion failed. The DREAM Act would provide a select group of high achieving students with a tough, but fair pathway to legal residency. In that way they can serve in our Armed Forces and contribute to the economic future of America. The U.S. Department of… Continue Reading
December 17, 2010
Lugar to appear on This Week on ABC
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar is scheduled to appear on This Week on Sunday, December 19, 2010, to discuss the New START treaty, the Obama administration's Afghanistan war strategy, and the impasse on funding the government. The show airs from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST. The entire episode will be available at http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek. ###… Continue Reading
December 16, 2010
Nunn-Lugar Update
"The Nunn-Lugar program has made possible, through operations of the United States military, United States contractors, working with their counterparts in Russia, the destruction of very sizeable amounts of nuclear weapons. Threats we took very seriously in 1991 and I hope Americans take very seriously currently." U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar took to the floor of the United States Senate for a second day as the Senate works to approve the New START Treaty. Lugar emphasized the urgency of continued co… Continue Reading
December 16, 2010
Lugar Responds to Proposed Missile Defense Amendment
U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, the Ranking Republican of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote the following letter to other Senators today regarding attempts to amend the preamble of the START Treaty: Dear Colleague: In anticipation of our consideration of the New START Treaty, some have advocated that the preamble to the Treaty be amended to address concerns regarding missile defense. I believe that this course is unnecessary and will not ultimately serve U.S. interests. As you are … Continue Reading
December 15, 2010
Lugar Makes the Case for New START
Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor today: Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the New START Treaty. We undertake this debate at a time when almost 100,000 American military personnel are fighting a difficult war in Afghanistan. More than 1,300 of our troops have been killed in Afghanistan with almost 10,000 wounded. Meanwhile, we are in our seventh year in Iraq, a deploy… Continue Reading
December 14, 2010
Nueva Ley de Lugar sobre Nutrición Infantil
El Senador de Estados Unidos, Dick Lugar, dio a conocer la siguiente declaración después de que la Ley para Niños Saludables y Libres de Hambre de 2010 fuera promulgada: El 13 de diciembre, una importante pieza de legislación nacional que amplía y mejora los programas asociados con la salud, el bienestar, y la educación de los niños de Indiana fue firmada en ley. Como copatrocinador de la Ley para Niños Saludables y Libres de Hambre de … Continue Reading
December 14, 2010
Lugar’s New Child Nutrition Law
U.S. Senator Dick Lugar released the following statement after the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids of Act of 2010 was signed into law: On December 13, an important piece of national legislation which extends and improves programs associated with the health, wellbeing, and education of Indiana children was signed into law. As a co-sponsor of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, it passed earlier this year without a single dissenting vote in the United States Senate. Our nation has maintained sc… Continue Reading
December 08, 2010
Senators Menendez, Lugar Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Create Independent Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission
WASHINGTON - Today U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Dick Lugar (R-IN), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2010. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) also co-sponsored the legislation. The bipartisan bill would mandate the creation of an independent commission to evaluate U.S. policies and programs aimed at reducing illicit drug supply and demand and recommend a multiyear counternarcotics strategy to address the escal… Continue Reading
December 07, 2010
Lugar Urges International Development Banks to Step Up Corruption Cases
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced today that criminal prosecution of firms and individuals caught defrauding the World Bank and the other multilateral development banks is an important deterrent, but use of this tool varies widely among the banks. Lugar, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has led a long-term oversight project of the banks' anti-corruption efforts. He recently asked the presidents of all the banks to describe their policies and practices regarding crimina… Continue Reading
December 06, 2010
Lugar Praises Work of Nunn-Lugar Staff
The United States will use all of its military, diplomatic and economic power - without question - to ensure that life threatening weapons of mass destruction everywhere are accounted, contained and hopefully destroyed. - The Lugar Doctrine, December 6, 2001 Nine years after Senator Dick Lugar first articulated an American foreign policy and national security doctrine to counter the spread of weapons of mass destruction, he praised the work of hundreds of Department of Defense workers who carry… Continue Reading
December 03, 2010
Lugar Encouraged by Developments in U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced he is encouraged by today's reports of the revised U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. "I am encouraged by the latest developments on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and look forward to reviewing this agreement and its potential to increase markets for Hoosier and U.S. made goods, services and agricultural products," said Lugar, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Overseas markets are a key to economic recovery. Implementation of this … Continue Reading
