[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11804]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN WAS AN INSPIRATION

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, President Ronald Reagan was an inspiration 
to me and millions of others throughout the U.S. and even all over the 
world. He saw the American dream come true in his life, rising from 
humble beginnings and achieving great, great success in almost every 
way.
  He will certainly go down in history as one of our greatest 
Presidents, but his greatness may have been achieved in large part 
because, as one of his closest friends said a couple of days ago, he 
did not worry about how history would view him.
  It has been said his greatest legacy will be leading us to victory in 
the Cold War, but his domestic achievements were great, too, especially 
in lowering taxes and helping curb the greed of government.
  I had the privilege of meeting President Reagan on many occasions, 
starting when he was Governor of California. He was always so kind to 
me and to everyone, and possibly one of his greatest attributes may 
have been in showing us that you can have strong views on important 
issues, but still treat opponents with kindness, compassion and even 
good humor.
  We are all better people, Mr. Speaker, because of the life and 
example of President Ronald Reagan.

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