Mourning the Passing of President Ronald Reagan

MOURNING THE PASSING OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN -- (House of Representatives - June 09, 2004)

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, Ronald Wilson Reagan first entered into our national consciousness in 1964, asking Americans to make a choice in the face of the growing threat of socialism both at home and abroad. We know him as the eternal optimist, the "Great Communicator", and the man who maintained that Communism would surely fall aside onto the "ash heap of history."

I had the personal privilege of knowing President Reagan when my father, Judge William S. Sessions, served as Director of the FBI during his administration. Like many of my generation, I was inspired by the optimism of Ronald Reagan, a leader who never lacked the courage and the principle to do what he felt was right even in the face of great obstacles. President Reagan saw the world in black and white, whether it was confronting the programs of the "Great Society" as the beginnings of a new "undemocratic socialism" or chiding the actions of the "Evil Empire" in Eastern Europe.

This moral clarity was the hallmark of his Presidency. Ronald Reagan came in to office with three core principles and an agenda by which to implement them. He believed that the government was too big, that it taxed too much, and that the Soviet Union was an evil empire, getting away with atrocities across the world. From the first day of his Presidency, Reagan began to move systematically towards enacting his campaign promises, and, in so doing, he
rejuvenated the American spirit.

America is forever indebted to this President whose resolve and determination to pursue "peace through strength"
helped to end the Cold War and ensured that, as the President himself said, "America's best days are yet to come. Our
proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead." Thank you, President Reagan. May
God bless you as you enter your rest in that shining city.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT