Christopher Shays: “today we celebrate the extraordinary career and inspirational life of President Ronald Wilson Reagan of California. When…”

“today we celebrate the extraordinary career and inspirational life of President Ronald Wilson Reagan of California. When Reagan stood on the steps of this Capitol on January 20, 1981 and took his oath of office, he assumed leadership of a nation that was suffering the worst recession in a half-century. He recognized his greatest challenge, and he stood before America that day and articulated his redemptive mission--to return the reins of government to the people. He knew that the best way to revive the American economy would be to get government out of the way of American creativity. "It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden," he said on that January morning at the Capitol. "And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles, there will be no compromise." President Reagan was able to lead America through the murky waters of recession. He was a forceful champion for breaking down barriers to trade, because he knew that once we removed the shackles from American business, it could compete successfully anywhere in the world. And when he was done, the American economy had embarked upon the largest peacetime expansion in history. He pushed America to compete on the international stage as well. Ronald Reagan took the Presidency of a nation that was uncertain in foreign policy because it was unmoored in principle.”