Richard Lugar on Foreign Policy Republican Sr Senator (IN)

Russia is neither friend nor foe; just an important country

"I think they are more foe than friend," Mourdock said, accusing Russia of aiding the governments of Iran and Syria and continuing to occupy former Soviet satellite Georgia. Lugar said Mourdock was wrong to suggest Russia is diverting funds from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to help anti-American regimes in the Mideast.

Initiate direct talks with Cuba's communist government

"The nearly 50-year old economic embargo against Cuba," Lugar (R-Ind.) said, puts the US at odds with the views of the rest of Latin America, the European Union and the UN, and "undermines our broader security and political interests in the Western Hemisphere."

Lugar is in the forefront of a broad movement advocating a new policy. A bipartisan majority of Congress has repeatedly voted to ease restrictions on travel and other contact with Cuba, although the measures died after threatening presidential vetoes during the Bush administration. He is working with "the US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, a number of state governments and human rights groups." I am certain Richard G. Lugar doesn't fear the absurdity of being described as soft or pro-socialist.

Voted YES on cooperating with India as a nuclear power.

• Approves the US-India Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
• Declares that it is US policy to prevent the transfer to India of nuclear equipment, materials, or technology from other participating governments in the Nuclear Suppliers Group or from any other source; and
• any nuclear power reactor fuel reserve provided to India for use in safeguarded civilian nuclear facilities should be commensurate with reasonable reactor operating requirements.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. HOWARD BERMAN (D, CA-28): Integrating India into a global nonproliferation regime is a positive step. Before anyone gets too sanctimonious about India's nuclear weapons program, we should acknowledge that the five recognized nuclear weapons states have not done nearly enough to fulfill their commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, including making serious reductions in their own arsenals, nor in the case of the US in ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. BARBARA LEE (D, CA-9): In withholding my approval, I seek not to penalize the people of India but, rather, to affirm the principle of nuclear nonproliferation. Jettisoning adherence to the international nuclear nonproliferation framework that has served the world so well for more than 30 years, as approval of the agreement before us would do, is just simply unwise. It is also reckless.

Approval of this agreement undermines our efforts to dissuade countries like Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. By approving this agreement, all we are doing is creating incentives for other countries to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe.

Voted YES on killing a bill for trade sanctions if China sells weapons.

Voted YES on capping foreign aid at only $12.7 billion.

Vetoed by President Clinton

The overall funding provided by H.R. 2606 is inadequate. By denying America a decent investment in diplomacy, this bill suggests we should meet threats to our security with our military might alone. That is a dangerous proposition. For if we underfund our diplomacy, we will end up overusing our military.

For example, A generation from now, no one is going to say we did too much to help the nations of the former Soviet Union safeguard their nuclear technology and expertise. If the funding cuts in this bill were to become law, future generations would certainly say we did too little and that we imperiled our future in the process.
Status: Conf Rpt Agreed to Y)51; N)49

Voted NO on limiting the President's power to impose economic sanctions.

Voted NO on limiting NATO expansion to only Poland, Hungary & Czech.

Voted YES on $17.9 billion to IMF.

Voted NO on ending Vietnam embargo.

Multi-year commitment to Africa for food & medicine.

In an effort to reduce hunger in sub-Saharan Africa, urges the President to:
1. set forth five-year and ten-year strategies to achieve a reversal of current levels of hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, including a commitment to contribute an appropriate U.S. share of increased bilateral and multilateral poverty-focused resources for sub-Saharan Africa, with an emphasis on health (including HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment), education, agriculture, private sector and free market development, democratic institutions and the rule of law, micro-finance development, and debt relief; and

2. work with the heads of other donor countries and sub-Saharan African countries and with private and voluntary organizations and other civic organizations to implement such strategies; and calls for

3. Congress to undertake a multi-year commitment to provide the resources to implement those strategies; and

4. the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to report on such implementation.

Condemns Russia for provocative statements to Georgia.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding provocative and dangerous statements made by the Government of the Russian Federation that undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia.

• Whereas, since 1993, the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia has been reaffirmed by the international community and 32 UN Security Council resolutions;
• Whereas the Government of the Republic of Georgia has pursued with good faith the peaceful resolution of territorial conflicts in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the end of hostilities in 1993;
• Whereas, for several years, the Government of Russia has engaged in an ongoing process of usurping the sovereignty of Georgia in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by awarding subsidies, the right to vote in elections in Russia, and Russian passports to people living in those regions;
• Whereas the announcement of the Government of the Russian Federation that it will establish 'official ties' with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and further involve itself in aspects of their government appears to be a thinly veiled attempt at annexation;
• Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Congress condemns recent decisions made by the Government of the Russian Federation to establish 'official ties' with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
• Calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to disavow this policy, which gives the appearance of being motivated by an appetite for annexation;
• affirms that the restoration of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia is in the interest of all who seek peace and stability in the region.

Rated -1 by AAI, indicating a mixed Arab/Palestine voting record.

The Arab American Institute has compiled a Scorecard to catalogue the voting record of the 112th Congress on issues of importance to the Arab American community. Though not comprehensive, we have attempted to provide a snapshot of legislation concerning many of the primary issues concerning Arab Americans. For the Senate, we have included 10 items: two bills on the Arab Spring, three on Palestine, one on Lebanon, one regarding civil liberties, and two for immigration reform.

1. S. Res. 44: (+) calls on former President Hosni Mubarak to immediately begin a peaceful transition to a democratic political system
2. S. Res. 109: (+) honoring and supporting women in North Africa and the Middle East
3. S. Res. 138: (-) calling on the United Nations to rescind the Goldstone report, formally known as the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which accused the Israeli government of targeting Palestinian civilians.
4. S. Res. 185: (-) reaffirming the commitment of the US to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and calling for a US veto of any UN resolution on Palestinian statehood without a settlement.
5. S. Con. Res. 23: (-) supporting Israel in maintaining defensible borders, and against Israel returning to the armistice lines that existed on June 4, 1967
6. S. 558: (+) the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act, to limit the use of cluster munitions in areas normally inhabited by civilians.
7. S. 1125: (+) greater judicial review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and greater protections to individuals being monitored or gag-ordered by the FBI.
8. S.1038, the PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act, in opposition of PATRIOT Act extension.
9. S. 723: (-) The Birthright Citizenship Act, limiting citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants born in the US.
10. S. 952: (+) the DREAM Act, allowing undocumented minors to become US citizens, provided they meet certain conditions, including good moral character

Urge Venezuela to re-open dissident radio & TV stations.

• WHEREAS for several months, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has been announcing over various media that he will not renew the current concession of the television station "Radio Caracas Televisión", also known as RCTV, which is set to expire on May 27, 2007, because of its adherence to an editorial stance different from his way of thinking;
• WHEREAS President Chavez justifies this measure based on the alleged role RCTV played in the unsuccessful unconstitutional attempts in April 2002 to unseat President Chavez, under circumstances where there exists no filed complaint or judicial sentence that would sustain such a charge under Venezuelan law;
• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate--
• (1) expresses its profound concern about the transgression against freedom of thought and expression that is being committed in Venezuela by the refusal of the President Hugo Chavez to renew the concession of RCTV
• (2) strongly encourages the Organization of American States to respond appropriately, with full consideration of the necessary institutional instruments, to such transgression.

Call for Burma's junta to release political prisoners.

• WHEREAS Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has dedicated her life to the peaceful, non-violent movement for democracy and reconciliation in the Union of Burma;
• WHEREAS Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy won a majority of parliamentary seats in Burma's last election held in 1990;
• WHEREAS the State Peace and Development Council of Burma refuses to cede power and permit representative government and has detained Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for 11 of the last 17 years;
• WHEREAS the ruling military junta has committed numerous, well-documented atrocities against the people of Burma;
• WHEREAS Aung San Suu Kyi continues to promote peaceful dialogue and reconciliation despite mistreatment from the State Peace and Development Council;
• WHEREAS the United States recognizes and supports the dedication and commitment to freedom demonstrated by Aung San Suu Kyi:
• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate--
• (1) honors Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for her courage and devotion to the people of the Union of Burma and their struggle for democracy; and
• (2)calls for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners by the State Peace and Development Council.

Develop a strategy to protect civilians in Darfur.

A resolution calling on the United States Government and the international community to promptly develop, fund, and implement a comprehensive regional strategy in Africa to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian operations, contain and reduce violence, and contribute to conditions for sustainable peace in eastern Chad, northern Central African Republic, and Darfur, Sudan.

Let Ukraine & Georgia enter NATO.

Congressional Summary: A resolution expressing strong support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to enter into a Membership Action Plan with Georgia and Ukraine:

1. reaffirming support for enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to include democratic governments that are able to meet the membership responsibilities;
2. that NATO's expansion contributes to its relevance;
3. that Georgia and Ukraine are strong allies that have made important progress in the areas of defense and democratic and human rights reform;
4. that a stronger relationship among Georgia, Ukraine, and NATO will benefit those countries and NATO member states; and
5. that the United States should take the lead in supporting the awarding of a Membership Action Plan to Georgia and Ukraine.

Legislative Outome: Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.

Allow travel between the United States and Cuba.

Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, except in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba, or of imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.