Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Honoring The Legacy Of The Late President Jimmy Carter
Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to pay tribute to President Jimmy Carter’s admirable legacy during his administration and afterward, before the late President lies in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
Today, Special Air Mission 39 takes 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 two days, President Carter will lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building, joining the small and distinguished list of eminent Americans who have earned this honor.
Later today I’ll 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 United States 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 president. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word: kind, honorable, intelligent, humble, deeply patriotic. These are the virtues he brought to the Oval Office, in an era where trust in government was arguably at a low in the twentieth century.
But just as admirable is 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, spreading democracy, fighting disease.
And we all know about his work for Habitat for Humanity, where he could often be found outside building houses for families in need well into his 90s.
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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