May 2, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 72 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Remembering Richard Lugar

  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the country lost one of its elder 
statesmen this week with the death of former Senator Richard Lugar.
  As Members of Congress, one of the most important parts of our job is 
keeping our Nation secure. We only hope that when we leave Congress, we 
will have left our Nation a little safer than when we found it.
  Richard Lugar never had to wonder if he had done that. As the Soviet 
Union was collapsing, Dick stepped forward and shepherded the passage 
of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which supported 
the dismantling and decommissioning of nuclear weapons in former Soviet 
countries before the weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists or 
rogue nations.
  As a direct result of his efforts, over the years, thousands of 
weapons have been destroyed--from warheads to missiles to chemical 
weapons. Thanks to his work, our Nation and our world are more secure.
  Dick's achievements on global security are the kind of legacy most of 
us can only hope to have, but, of course, that is not all that Dick 
Lugar did in his Senate career.
  As Indiana's longest serving Senator, he also served as a leader on 
agricultural issues and on food security. Even after he had left the 
Senate, he continued to advocate for the issues that he cared about as 
president of the Lugar Center, which, among other things, focuses on 
global food security and preventing the proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction.
  Dick will be sorely missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his 
family, particularly his wife, Char, and their four sons, Mark, Bob, 
John, and David.