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Sen. Dick Lugar Placed On Congressional Disabled List With Strained Hamstring

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WASHINGTON—Two days after tearing his right hamstring while sponsoring bill S. 2597, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN-.314) was placed on the 15-day Congressional Disabled List. "I was up there lobbying to authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of Moldova, when all of a sudden I felt this snap," said the 76-year-old Lugar, who collapsed on the Senate floor and was unable to walk back to his seat under his own power. "I'm too old to be sponsoring this hard." As Lugar was being carried out of the Capitol on a stretcher, he gave a thumbs-up sign, drawing a standing ovation from his fellow members of Congress. "He's a fighter," said Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). This is just the latest in a string of bad luck for the Senate, as during a routine checkup Sunday, bone chips were discovered in Iowa senator Tom Harkin's proposing elbow, and doctors have said he may never legislate again.