[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 79 (Tuesday, June 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6627-S6628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A COMMUNICATION FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OFFICIALLY 
  NOTIFYING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF THE DEATH OF FORMER 
                     PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN--PM 84

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was ordered to lie on the table:

To the Congress of the United States:
  By this message, I officially inform you of the death of Ronald 
Reagan, the fortieth President of the United States.
  Ronald Reagan was a great leader and a good man. He had the 
confidence that comes with conviction, the strength that comes with 
character, the grace that comes with humility,

[[Page S6628]]

and the humor that comes with wisdom.
  Through his leadership, spirit, and abiding faith in the American 
people, President Reagan gave our Nation a renewed optimism. With his 
courage and moral clarity, he enhanced America's security and advanced 
the spread of peace, liberty, and democracy to millions of people who 
had lived in darkness and oppression. As America's President, he helped 
change the world.
  The sun has now set on Ronald Reagan's extraordinary American life. 
Just as he told us that our Nation's best days are yet to come, we know 
that the same is true for him.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, June 8, 2004.

                          ____________________