Washington, DC—FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken today issued the following statement on the passing of Senator Richard Lugar:
“It’s difficult for me to articulate the influential impact that Senator Dick Lugar had on my life. He was a model of decency and compassion for all of us who worked for him. A member of the Futures Industry Hall of Fame, he and Sen. Patrick Leahy led the first subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture Committee that oversaw the CFTC shortly after its formation. He was part of every CFTC reauthorization for over 30 years and chaired the Agriculture Committee during the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000–the bipartisan legislation that implemented principles-based regulation and began an era of unmatched growth and innovation for exchange-traded derivatives.
But what I most remember is his deep caring of the staff members who worked for him—the afternoon runs, the stories of meeting Bono and Lou Reed at the White House, or the beautiful hand-written notes noting my accomplishments as well as my personal losses that I will cherish forever. I am deeply saddened by his loss but equally saddened that there are no longer people like Dick Lugar in the world. I hope I can live up to his values and pass them on to my children. Rest in Peace Senator.”
