Richard G. Lugar

Richard Green "Dick" Lugar, a Republican, is the Senior Senator from Indiana. He was first elected in 1976. (map)

Iraq War
Lugar voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

In late June, 2007, Senator Lugar urged the Bush administration to pursue a new direction in Iraq "very soon," and argued that: Our course in Iraq has lost contact with our vital national security interests in the Middle East and beyond. Our continuing absorption with military activities in Iraq is limiting our diplomatic assertiveness there and elsewhere in the world

On July 12, 2007, Sens. Lugar and John Warner (R-Va.) introduced an amendment to the FY2008 defense appropriations bill that would require the President to devise an exit strategy from Iraq within three months. Seeking bipartisan support, the measure was an attempt at a "third path" in Iraq war legislation, between Democrats' call for an immediate troop withdrawal, and Republicans' call for support of President Bush's troop "surge." The amendment essentially demands that the President develop an alternative plan for Iraq war policy if the "surge" fails by the September progress report deadline. "It would require Bush by Oct. 16 to provide Congress with a plan for the redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq and a change in their current combat mission to guarding Iraq’s borders, training its security forces, fighting al Qaeda in Iraq, and protecting U.S. installations. The measure recommends that Bush design plans that can be implemented by Dec. 31." The measure also calls for a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on the prospect's of Iraq's stability, along with a review of the intelligence findings that underpinned the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in Iraq. The provision includes an "expectation" that the President would request another authorization of force for the war when he reports to Congress in September.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
In June 1996, with Sens. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Sam Nunn (R-Ga.), Sen. Lugar introduced the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996, also known as the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Amendment to the FY1997 National Defense Authorization Act, as an alternative to the Defend America Act of 1996, which failed to pass in the House of Representatives.

The Nuclear Safeguards and Supply Act of 2007
On April 18, 2007, Sen. Lugar introduced the The Nuclear Safeguards and Supply Act of 2007 (S.1138), the Senate version of the International Nuclear Fuel for Peace and Nonproliferation Act of 2007 passed by the House. The purpose of the bill was to establish an international regime for the assured supply of nuclear fuel for peaceful means and to authorize contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support the establishment of an international nuclear fuel bank. A goal of this bill would be to remove pretexts for countries to build their own uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing facilities, as these national facilities might have limited security and could serve as fronts for countries to develop nuclear weapons programs. When he introduced the bill, Lugar explained the importance of a well regulated international nuclear fuel facility, stating:

"'The construction of facilities for the enrichment of uranium and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in new states, even for ostensibly peaceful purposes, poses an unacceptable long-term risk to the national security of the United States. The enrichment technology intended to produce fuel for reactors can also be used to create highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon, and the plutonium that is produced from reprocessing spent fuel is also suitable for nuclear weapons and susceptible to diversion to terrorists. The spread of enrichment and reprocessing capabilities will dangerously increase the chances that new nations will develop nuclear weapons and that terrorists might obtain fissile or radiological materials for crude devices. It is therefore incumbent on the United States to lead an international effort to halt the expansion of enrichment and reprocessing to new countries.'"

Background
Born April 4, 1932 in Indianapolis. He graduated from Denison University in 1954, and went on to attend Pembroke College, University of Oxford, England, as a Rhodes Scholar, and received a graduate degree in 1956. He served in the United States Navy from 1957 to 1960. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.

Lugar manages his family's 604-acre Marion County corn, soybean and tree farm. Before entering public life, he helped his brother Tom manage the family's food machinery manufacturing business in Indianapolis.

Lugar served on the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners from 1964 to 1967. He was elected Mayor of Indianapolis in 1967. He is closely associated with the adoption of Unigov in 1970, which unified the government of Indianapolis with that of Marion County. He was reelected mayor in 1971. During this time he became known as "Richard Nixon's favorite mayor" due to his support for devolving federal powers to local communities.

Senate career
Lugar unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. Senate in 1974, but two years later, he ran again, unseating incumbent Senator Vance Hartke. In 2006, he will run without major party opposition for re-election to a sixth term. 

Lugar ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1996, but his campaign failed to gain traction.

Lugar has been influential in gaining Senate ratification of treaties to reduce the world's use, production and stockpiling of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. In 1991, he initiated a partnership with Sam Nunn with the objective of eliminating latent weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. To date, the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program has deactivated more than 5,900 nuclear warheads that were once aimed at the United States.

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Lugar built bipartisan support for 1996 federal farm program reforms, ending 1930s-era federal production controls. He initiated a biofuels research program to help decrease U.S. dependency on foreign oil, and led initiatives to streamline the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reform the food stamp program, and preserve the federal school lunch program.

Money in politics
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Committees

 * Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
 * Subcommittee on Nutrition and Food Assistance, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and General Legislation
 * Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit
 * Senate Committee on Foreign Relations - Ranking Member

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
 * Subcommittee on Forestry Conservation and Rural Revitalization
 * Subcommittee on Marketing Inspection and Production Promotion
 * Subcommittee on Research Nutrition and General Legislation
 * Senate Committee on Foreign Relations - Chair

Affiliations

 * Advisory Council, International Executive Service Corps
 * Board, Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).
 * Member of the Aspen Strategy Group
 * Jefferson Awards Board Member, American Institute for Public Service
 * International Advisory Board, Center for Nonproliferation Studies
 * Recipient of the 2001 NED Democracy Service Medal
 * International Advisory Board, Freeman-Spogli Institute
 * Advisory Council, Center on International Media Assistance
 * Former Board Member (1989), Center for Democracy
 * Former Director (1992), National Endowment for Democracy
 * Advisory Council (2008), Technoserve

More background data

 * See how you compare to Richard Lugar

Contact
DC Office: 306 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-1401 Phone: 202-224-4814 Fax: 202-228-0360 Email: senator_lugar AT lugar.senate.gov Website

District Office - Evansville: 101 Northwest Martin Luther King Boulevard Room 122 Evansville, IN 47708 Phone: 812-465-6313 Fax: 812-421-1883

District Office - Fort Wayne: 1300 South Harrison Street, Room 3158 Fort Wayne, IN 46802 Phone: 260-422-1505 Fax: 260-424-1342

District Office - Indianapolis: 1180 Market Tower 10 West Market Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Phone: 317-226-5555 Fax: 317-226-5508

District Office - Jeffersonville: 1201 East Tenth Street, Room 103 Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Phone: 812-288-3377

District Office - Valparaiso: 175 West Lincolnway, Suite G-1 Valparaiso, IN 46383 Phone: 219-548-8035 Fax: 219-548-7506

Resources

 * Official website
 * Congressional biography
 * Campaign website

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996
 * Freedom's Watch

Speeches by Richard Lugar

 * Press Release: "Lugar Senate Floor Speech Calls for Course Change in Iraq. Connecting our Iraq Strategy to our Vital Interests," Sen. Lugar's U.S. Senate website, June 25, 2007.

Articles about Richard Lugar

 * "Milbank falsely suggested Barr was only attendee of conservative conference to criticize NSA spying program," Media Matters for America, February 14, 2006.
 * Anne Flaherty, "GOP Senator Says Iraq Plan Not Working. Republican Sen. Richard Lugar Declares Iraq Strategy Not Working, Calls for New Approach," Associated Press (ABC News), June 26, 2007. See video (link posted by AMERICAblog) and speech below.
 * Joe Sudbay, "Lugar's Iraq speech making waves on Capitol Hill and beyond," AMERICAblog, June 27, 2007.
 * "Snow Falsely Asserts Lugar Believes Escalation Is ‘Working’," Think Progress, July 9, 2007. re White Press secretary Tony Snow

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Left in Aboite