Chairman's Press
Lugar: Romney Misinformed on New START Treaty
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), the former Chairman and now Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement: Governor Mitt Romney's hyperbolic attack on the New START Treaty in the July 6 edition of The Washington Post repeats discredited objections and appears unaware of arms control history and context. In advancing these arguments, he rejects the Treaty's unequivocal endorsement by the Defense Department led by Secretary Robert Gates and the Join… Continue Reading
July 01, 2010
Kerry and Lugar: GAO Study on Workforce Gaps at USAID Reaffirms Urgent Need to Reform Agency
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategic planning to meet workforce needs at USAID, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN), who authored the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 to help address USAID's gaps in capacity, today issued the following statements: "The strength of USAID lies with its people, officers who … Continue Reading
July 01, 2010
Kerry and Lugar: GAO Study on Workforce Gaps at USAID Reaffirms Urgent Need to Reform Agency
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategic planning to meet workforce needs at USAID, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN), who authored the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 to help address USAID's gaps in capacity, today issued the following statements: "The strength of USAID lies with its people, officers who … Continue Reading
July 01, 2010
Lugar Applauds Belated Confirmation of Broadcasting Board of Governors
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar applauded the Senate's confirmation yesterday of the full slate of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The eight-member Board, whose names were sent to the Senate in November 2009, is composed of four Republicans and four Democrats and provides crucial oversight and policy guidance to America's overseas broadcasting entities including the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio/TV Marti, Radio Free Asia and Arabic-language Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa. "This will be the… Continue Reading
June 25, 2010
Senate Passes Lugar bill to permanently authorize Radio Free Asia
The United States Senate unanimously approved U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar's legislation to promote the free dissemination of information in East Asia through the permanent authorization of Radio Free Asia (RFA). Senators Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Al Franken (D-MN), and Dan Inouye (D-HI), Jim Risch (R-ID) and Jim Webb (D-VA) cosponsored the legislation, S. 3104. "The Senate's unanimous approval of this legislation indicates the importance we place on the free flow of information, particularly in countries n… Continue Reading
June 25, 2010
U.S. Senate Passes Kerry-Lugar Resolution On Kyrgyzstan
U.S. Senate Passes Kerry-Lugar Resolution On Kyrgyzstan WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to the crisis in southern Kyrgyzstan, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) today issued the following statements announcing the Senate's unanimous passage of a resolution calling for all parties to refrain from violence and attend to the civilians who have been displaced or injured. "We are saddened by the tragic loss of life in Kyrgyzstan and the… Continue Reading
June 22, 2010
Nunn-Lugar May 2010 Update
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar announced the following progress in the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program last month. 6 Strategic nuclear warheads deactivated 2 Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) destroyed 6 ICBM mobile launchers destroyed 4 nuclear weapons transport train shipments secured 59 metric tons of Russian chemical weapons agent neutralized Earlier this week, Purdue University received a $1.6 million grant under Nunn-Lugar Global to work with three Pakistani i… Continue Reading
June 22, 2010
Statement on J.S. Tissainayagam’s pardon by Senators Kerry, Lugar and Casey
Washington, D.C.--Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, Ranking Member Dick Lugar and Subcommittee Chairman on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., today welcomed Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's decision to pardon journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who had been convicted last year and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. Mr. Tissainayagam, a respected Sri Lankan Tamil journalist, was convicted under the country's anti-terrorism … Continue Reading
June 10, 2010
Kerry, Lugar Announce Second Series Of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings On The New START Treaty
WASHINGTON, DC - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) today released a schedule for the second round of hearings on the New START Treaty. The Committee has held five hearings thus far with current and former administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, former Secretaries of State James Baker and Henry Kissinge… Continue Reading
May 18, 2010
U.S.-Mexico Drug and Organized Crime Fighting Efforts Making Progress but Still Need Bolstering, New Report Says
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Dick Lugar today released a report on the progress of U.S.-Mexican efforts to defeat organized crime and drug trafficking. The report, "Common Enemy, Common Struggle: Progress in U.S.-Mexican Efforts to Defeat Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking," will be formally published by the Government Printing Office later this week. Lugar will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderón on Thursday, following the president's address to a joi… Continue Reading
May 12, 2010
Kerry, Lugar Announce Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing Schedule for New START Treaty
WASHINGTON, DC - With the Obama Administration poised to formally submit the New START Treaty to the U.S. Senate for its advice and consent to ratification, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) today released a schedule of upcoming hearings. "We look forward to receiving the New START Treaty and shepherding it through the ratification process. In the coming weeks, we will conduct a series of hearings with administration witness… Continue Reading
May 10, 2010
Kerry, Lugar Urge Administration To Move Forward On The U.S.-Korean Trade Agreement
Washington, D.C.---Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) today sent a letter to the Administration calling for the timely resolution of outstanding issues related to theU.S.-South Korean trade agreement. Senators Kerry and Lugar argue that it is in the best economic and strategic interest of the United States to strengthen ties with its allies. The United States should work with South Korea to resolve legitimate concerns and quickly … Continue Reading
May 05, 2010
Lugar calls for quick passage of the HELP Act
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Dick Lugar (R-IN) today co-sponsored the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010, S.3275, to provide additional tariff benefits to certain Haitian textile and apparel imports in order to create jobs and sustainable revenue streams for the impoverished country. An identical bill has already been passed by the House of Representatives. "I have supported earlier versions of this legislation and am pleased to join as a co-sponsor of … Continue Reading
April 26, 2010
Dodd-Lugar Bills to Speed Haiti's Recovery Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Haiti Debt Relief and Earthquake Recovery Act of 2010, legislation originally authored by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), was signed into law today by President Barack Obama. The legislation encourages eliminating Haiti's remaining debt to international financial institutions, currently totaling $1 billion, and instructs these institutions to offer grants rather than loan assistance to Haiti in order to end the debt-relief cycle. "Haiti's long… Continue Reading
April 14, 2010
Lugar, Leahy call for Haitian-American Enterprise Fund
U.S. Sens. Dick Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today introduced legislation that would lead to the establishment of the "Haitian-American Enterprise Fund," to focus on strengthening the private sector in post-earthquake Haiti. The legislation will help to empower the private sector to create jobs and sustainable revenue streams that will ensure Haiti's progress long after foreign assistance diminishes. The Fund is modeled after successful post-Cold War funds established 20 yea… Continue Reading
April 13, 2010
Lugar Tells Nuclear Summit to Say 'Yes' to Cooperation
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar addressed the Foreign Minister's luncheon at the Nuclear Summit today in Washington, DC. He was introduced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In her introduction, Secretary Clinton said: "When the Cold War ended, Senator Lugar was one of the earliest and strongest advocates for addressing the dangers posed by vulnerable nuclear weapons and materials. In 1991, he came together with Democrat Sam Nunn, who was then serving as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committe… Continue Reading
April 13, 2010
Lugar meets with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera
On April 12, U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar met with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera on his first visit to Washington as president to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. The meeting, which took place in Lugar's office, also was attended by six Members of Chile's Congress. "My deep interest in Chile began 21 years ago with the late Senator Kennedy when we established the U.S. Committee for Free Elections in Chile and helped usher in the return of democracy," Lugar said. "Chile is a bea… Continue Reading
April 13, 2010
Senador Lugar se reúne con presidente chileno Sebastián Piñera
El 12 de abril, el Senador de los Estados Unidos Dick Lugar se reunió con el Presidente chileno Sebastián Piñera en su primera visita a Washington como Presidente para asistir a la Cumbre sobre Seguridad Nuclear. A la reunión, que se llevó a cabo en la oficina de Lugar, también asistieron seis miembros del Congreso de Chile. "Mi profundo interés por Chile comenzó hace 21 años con el difunto Senador Kennedy cuando establecimos el… Continue Reading
April 12, 2010
Lugar statement and resolution honoring Poland President
U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar made the following statement for today's Congressional Record as he introduced a resolution Honoring the lives of President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and 94 others who perished on April 10, 2010, in a plane crash while en route to memorialize those Polish officers, officials, and civilians who were massacred by the Soviet Union 70 years ago. STATEMENT BY SENATOR LUGAR ON THE DEATH OF POLISH PRESIDENT LECH KACZYNSKI AND OTHER OFFICIALS IN WESTERN RUSSIA Mr. LUGA… Continue Reading
March 26, 2010
Statement by Sen. Lugar on START
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Dick Lugar made the following statement on today's announcement of a new START Treaty: "I commend the U.S. and Russian delegations for months of dedicated effort. I look forward to the President's submission of the new treaty, its protocols, annexes and all associated documents to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification. I also look forward to working with Chairman Kerry to begin scheduling hearings and briefings for the Foreign… Continue Reading
