Chris Van Hollen: “I thank my colleague for his comments in support of NATO and the alliance, one that we share on a bipartisan basis here…”

“I thank my colleague for his comments in support of NATO and the alliance, one that we share on a bipartisan basis here in the Senate. Remembering Richard Lugar Madam President, I wish to take a few moments to honor former Senator Richard Lugar, who passed away on April 28. Richard Lugar's leadership as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was a model of statesmanship--someone who put country over party and principle over politics. I did not have the privilege of serving as a Senator with Richard Lugar, but I did have an opportunity to see him in action when I served as a Senate staff member, working on national security issues for another great Senator and statesman, Senator Mac Mathias, who also served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. During that time, I witnessed Richard Lugar's work on a bipartisan basis to achieve major foreign policy successes. He had the vision to remain true to American values, and in a complex world, he took the long view of what was best for our country. Those traits produced the landmark law to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation, known as the Nunn-Lugar Act, after its chief authors. The program has led to the elimination of more than 10,000 nuclear warheads, more than 1,000 ICBMs, and almost 40,000 tons of chemical agents that had been scattered across the former Soviet Union. I was especially inspired by Senator Lugar's work to end the racist apartheid regime in South Africa.…”