[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S36-S37]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING JIMMY CARTER
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on Jimmy Carter, this morning, Special
Air Mission 39 took off from Georgia, carrying the 39th President of
the United States, Jimmy Carter, so he may be honored here in the
Capitol one last time.
For the next 2 days, President Carter will lie in state in the
Rotunda of the
[[Page S37]]
U.S. Capitol Building, joining the small and distinguished list of
eminent Americans who have earned this honor. Later today, I will join
Leader Thune and other congressional leaders in the Rotunda of the U.S.
Capitol to place a wreath on President Carter's casket on behalf of the
U.S. Senate.
Today and tomorrow, Americans will brave the snow and cold
temperatures to pay their respects to one of the most decent men ever
to hold the Office of the President. He was a gentleman in every sense
of the word--kind, honorable, intelligent, humble, and deeply
patriotic. These are virtues he brought to the Oval Office in an era
when trust in government was arguably at a low in the 20th century.
But just as admirable as the legacy President Carter built after
holding the most powerful job in the world, after leaving office, he
established the Carter Center to continue his work on human rights, on
spreading democracy, on fighting disease; and we all know about his
work with Habitat for Humanity where he could often be found outside,
building houses for families in need, well into his nineties. That was
President Carter at his core. He never stopped serving others until his
final day. America was lucky to have him as a citizen, as a President,
and as a moral compass of our time.
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