[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 24 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Page 1039]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Congress on the Death of President Ronald Reagan

June 8, 2004

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, 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.