Honoring President Jimmy Carter on His 80th Birthday

HONORING PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ON HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY -- (House of Representatives - October 06, 2004)

Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 798) honoring former President James Earl (Jimmy) Carter on the occasion of his 80th birthday, as amended.

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for yielding me this time. And I thank my colleagues for bringing this resolution.

I am very proud to represent President Carter. Plains, Georgia, and Sumter County are in the Second Congressional District. So it is a very proud moment for me to be here to today to help celebrate his 80th birthday.

Today, we certainly honor and give recognition to a man who truly serves as a living international symbol of American compassion and integrity. But his integrity did not begin with winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 or when he brokered peaceful solutions to international conflict. Rather, his humanity stems from a foundation of values laid in rural Georgia years ago, where church and school heavily influenced his early life. Those values, infused in the noble profession of peanut farming, shaped his character, influenced his political ideologies, and added to his commitment to democracy, to freedom, and to peace.

His commitment to humankind carried him through his early years of public service, on the school board, State senator, governor, and through election as the 39th President of the United States.

President Carter negotiated the Panama Canal treaties. He conceived the Camp David Accords, which laid a foundation for settling disputes in the Middle East, a feat that eluded peacemakers, I guess, for decades and decades, and he was behind the second Strategic Arms Limitation Talks with the then-Soviet Union.

But President Carter's success was not limited to just foreign policy. On the American home front, he worked on developing programs for harnessing alternative sources of energy such as solar, nuclear, and geothermal power. He created new departments of education and energy. His environmental track record included passage of legislation to preserve the wilderness and the vast natural resources in Alaska.

President Carter's deep commitment to social justice and human rights continued even after he left office. In 1984, he started the Jimmy Carter Work Project with Habitat for Humanity. Through this project volunteers built thousands of houses, raising the awareness of the need for affordable housing.

And today he remains loyal to his roots in rural Georgia and has worked to create job opportunities through State and local partnerships, which has stimulated economic growth and tourism.

President Carter has served his Nation and the world as the best example of American service. His actions always bring to mind dedication, statesmanship, and above all, honor.

I am privileged to recognize and to commend President Carter, my role model, my constituent in the Second District of Georgia, and my friend, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

The late Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, President Emeritus of Moorehouse College, said, "You make your living by what you get; you make your life by what you give." We are all pleased because of the life that President and Mrs. Carter have made.

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