Charles Norwood: “Mr. Speaker, I rise on the floor today to join my colleagues and the legions of Americans and freedom-loving people…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise on the floor today to join my colleagues and the legions of Americans and freedom-loving people around the world in honoring the memory and the legacy of President Ronald Wilson Reagan. In the days that have passed since President Reagan slipped the surly bonds of this world, much has been said about our Nation's 40th President, of his boundless energy, eternal optimism, strong character, good judgment and, most important of all, his unmatched ability to lead and to deliver hope to America and the world at a time when it was needed most. Despite those who would suggest otherwise, the accomplishments and good fortune that befell this Nation and ultimately those behind the Iron Curtain on President Reagan's watch did not happen accidentally or through luck or simply being in the right place at the right time. No, Mr. Speaker. Providing unfailing hope and guidance to a grateful Nation and all the world in a time of much despair is not luck. It is called leadership. And President Reagan will be remembered as a leader without peer, period. Winston Churchill once said, 'The price of greatness is responsibility.' President Reagan understood and accepted that responsibility like no one else, and he left greatness in his wake. Mr. Speaker, if the measure of a man is the difference that he makes, then history will record that President Ronald Reagan was nothing less than a giant.”