Press Releases

Dec 11 2012

McConnell Statement on the Retirement of Sen. Lugar

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today in honor of Sen. Dick Lugar’s six-term tenure in the United States Senate:

“As we enter the final weeks of the 112th Congress, one of the toughest tasks for me is saying goodbye to colleagues who won’t be with us at the start of the next Congress. So I’d like to kick it off this morning by spending just a few minutes bragging on my longtime friend and neighbor to the North, Senator Dick Lugar.

“Let me just start by saying that I’m grateful to have served alongside this good man, and to have had a front-row seat for much of his illustrious career.

“Just to give you an idea of the kind of career Dick Lugar has had, consider this: he was an Eagle Scout, first in his class in high school, first in his class in college, a Rhodes Scholar, Naval intelligence briefer, corporate turnaround artist, and big-city mayor: all by the age of 35. He has excelled at everything he’s ever done. And, most incredibly, he’s done it with perfectly smooth elbows. Walk into any office on Capitol Hill, and you won’t find a single person who’d say a bad word about Dick Lugar. He’s earned the respect and admiration of everyone who ever crossed his path. I assure you: in the world of politics, that’s nothing short of a miracle. And now Dick has decided to press his luck. He’s moving into the only line of work where the rivalries are even more vicious than politics. He’s becoming a college professor.

“Dick and I go all the way back to my first Senate race in 1984. He was head of the NRSC at the time, he took a chance on me, and I’ve always been grateful. He’s been a friend ever since.

“A lot of Hoosiers cross the Ohio River every day to work in Kentucky, but it is not often a Hoosier Senator crosses it to help a Kentuckian making his first bid for the Senate.

“Since we’re from neighboring states, our work in the Senate has often overlapped over the years. And I really lucked out. Dick’s always been helpful and cooperative, and a perfect gentleman.

“With his six terms in the Senate, Senator Lugar is the longest-serving member of Congress in Indiana history. He ranks tenth on the list of Senators who have cast the most roll-call votes.

“And as the longtime chair or ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, he’s become one of America’s most respected voices on matters pertaining to foreign policy.

“Indeed, Senator Lugar commands the highest respect not only from his peers in the Senate, but around the world for his deep knowledge of foreign policy, national security, agriculture, and trade.

“To a lot of liberals, he’s a walking contradiction: a Republican intellectual. And he has always worn that reputation lightly.

“Anybody’s who’s ever been on a CODEL with Dick has seen his method. He stuffs his carry-on to the point of bursting with memos, newspapers, magazines, journals, reports, survey data, you name it. Apparently, Trent Lott sat next to him on a plane once and was horrified at the way he tore out the pages and scribbled notes on them. We all know Trent would never be so indelicate.

“Senator Lugar has always had a global view. It started during his days as Rhodes Scholar and an intelligence briefer in the Navy, and he brought that global view back to Indiana. After the untimely death of his dad, Dick and his brother took over the family business and re-invented it from a struggling domestic operation to a global leader in the manufacture of baking machinery.

“He went from success to success, moving from a seat on the Indianapolis school board into the Mayor’s office, and then, in 1976, onto the Senate. And what a Senate career it’s been.

“For my part, I think Senator Lugar’s achievement in passing the Lugar-Nunn Cooperative Threats Reduction Program in 1991 is a great achievement not just for himself but for the world.

“The Lugar-Nunn program provides assistance to former Soviet states like Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus in helping them dismantle and destroy their nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, in order to prevent them from coming under the control of terrorists.

“As of 2011, Nunn-Lugar has deactivated over 7,600 strategic warheads, 791 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 669 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, 32 nuclear submarines, and 194 nuclear test tunnels. It’s neutralized 1,395 metric tons of chemical weapons. And it has certified that the countries of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, which once held the third-, fourth-, and eighth-largest nuclear arsenals in the world, respectively, are now nuclear free. What a legacy.

“After the September 11 attacks, Senator Lugar called for and helped pass an expansion of the Nunn-Lugar approach, resulting in the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, which aims to prevent chemical and biological weapons from falling in the hands of terrorists. And he’s been a leader in Congress on the issue of ensuring food safety and supply internationally for years to come.

“It’s the mark of a leader that he thinks not only of his own moment in time, but of the future of his community and of his fellow man, here and around the world. I think it’s safe to say few senators embody that spirit as fully as Senator Lugar. And that’s not just my opinion. For his work to make the world a safer place, Senator Lugar has been justly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Senator Lugar was first elected to the Senate in 1976, and has served for six terms. He’s beloved in his home state of Indiana and in bordering Kentucky too. There’s not only a lot of admiration but a lot of affection for this giant of the Senate just south of Hoosier territory.

“Senator Lugar has put his extraordinary talents at the service of this institution and his fellow countrymen, and I have no doubt he’ll be remembered as one of the best.

“Senator Lugar would probably tell you that his greatest achievement was marrying Char. They’ve been married now for more than 50 years. They’re proud of their four sons and their 13 grandchildren. And they can be proud of the great teamwork they’ve had together over the years, from their time as co-presidents of their senior class at Denison University.

“Char and the boys were involved in all the campaigns. And the Senate family is sad to see them go as well. Senator, you’re a treasure to the Senate and a model of the public servant. We’re sorry to see you go, and I am sorry to lose your wise counsel.

“I know that whatever you turn to next, you’ll be a great success. And I look forward to hearing all about it. Thank you for your tremendous service to this body, to the State of Indiana, and to the Nation.”

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