LUGAR STATEMENT ON SENATOR KENNEDY

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar made the following statement on Senator Ted Kennedy:

Senator Ted Kennedy and I had a long and productive friendship in the United States Senate.

During the Reagan Administration, we worked on a number of important foreign policy issues together, including legislation to hasten the end of apartheid in South Africa.

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In 1994, we helped provide bipartisan support for education reform legislation which preceded passage of No Child Left Behind during President Bush’s administration. In recent years, we co-chaired the Cultural Bridges program that brings several hundred students from Muslim countries to live and study with American families each year. During the past two years, I read inspirational words from Ted Kennedy to the assembled Cultural Bridges students.

Ted wrote to me on March 27, 2003, “Warmest congratulations on the historic occasion of your 10,000th Roll Call vote in the Senate. While we’ve not always been on the same side of those 10,000 votes, I am proud to have been here with you while you cast them. I’m sorry that I missed the celebration in honor of this great occasion. You deserve 10,000 such events to honor all you have done in the Senate. Vicki and I send our warmest wishes to you and Charlene.”

I replied to him, “You have long been a member of the 10,000 vote club and I deeply appreciate your note recognizing my entry into the group. As I watched the vigor and passion of your work, day to day, I know that I have a good mentor in discovering a great way to proceed in the post-10,000 vote aftermath.”

These vivid personal memories and so many others of experiences I enjoyed with Ted Kennedy greatly increase the sense of loss I share with the Kennedy family and Senate colleagues who have also experienced remarkable events with Ted Kennedy. He lived a great life of service, family strength, and enduring friendships. I will miss him very much.