[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S3325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL FOR PRESIDENT AND MRS. REAGAN

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, as you may know, on April 25, 2000, 
many of my colleagues and I introduced S. 2459, legislation that would 
award President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan with the Congressional Gold 
Medal.
  The bill has been received warmly in my home State as well. The 
Press-Sentinel of Jesup, GA, recently ran an editorial supporting my 
bill. I ask unanimous consent that this article be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

          [From the Jesup, GA, Press-Sentinel, Apr. 26, 2000]

                      A Fitting Tribute to Reagan

       If Sen. Paul Coverdell has his way, former President Ronald 
     Reagan and his wife, Nancy, will become the 118th recipient 
     of the Congressional Gold Medal.
       Tuesday, the Georgia senator introduced legislation that 
     would award the president and his wife the medal.
       Said the senator, ``I am proud to sponsor this effort. 
     President and Mrs. Reagan are a constant source of 
     inspiration for me, as they are for many Americans. President 
     Reagan led us to the economic prosperity that we still enjoy 
     today and was instrumental in ending the Cold War. Mrs. 
     Reagan lent her grace and commitment to fighting the war on 
     drugs. Now as they battle the President's Alzheimer's Disease 
     together, it is fitting for this nation to thank them for 
     their leadership and for the role they played in shaping 
     American history.''
       During his eight years in the White House, Reagan's role in 
     ending the Cold War will go down in history as perhaps his 
     greatest accomplishment.
       Who can forget the challenge he hurled to his counterpart 
     in Moscow, Mikhail Gorbachev, when he stood at Berlin's 
     Brandenburg Gate and said, ``Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this 
     wall!''
       In 1989, near the end of his term, the Berlin Wall came 
     down and a year later Germany was again reunited.
       When told of plans to award the Reagans the medal, 
     Gorbachev said, ``The award of the Gold Medal of U.S. 
     Congress to Ronald Reagan is a fitting tribute to the 40th 
     president of the United States, who will go down in history 
     as a man profoundly dedicated to his people and committed to 
     the values of democracy and freedom.
       ``Together with Ronald Reagan, we took the first, the most 
     important steps to end the cold war and start real nuclear 
     disarmament. . . . I am confident that succeeding generations 
     will duly appreciate the accomplishments of President 
     Reagan.''
       We applaud the overdue recognition of President Reagan's 
     accomplishments and hope for unanimous support for Sen. 
     Coverdell's legislation.

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, from rural Georgia to Capitol Hill, 
Americans recognize the immeasurable contribution that President and 
Mrs. Ronald Reagan have made to our Nation. Their support is most 
welcome.

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