Chuck Grassley: “this week, our Nation mourns the loss of our 39th President, Jimmy Carter. With grief comes reflection on his life, a…”

“this week, our Nation mourns the loss of our 39th President, Jimmy Carter. With grief comes reflection on his life, a life well lived. There is no doubt President Carter made an impact on scores of Americans. As for this Senator, in 1976, I was on the ballot as a Congressman for Iowa's 3rd Congressional District, and of course Jimmy Carter was on that same ballot. Now, he and I were bit by different political bugs, but we have a similar foundation--two smalltown boys anchored in our faith. As the only sitting Member of Congress today who served with the Carter Presidency, I remember him fondly and maybe have a couple of times to remind you about. I don't know exactly what year it was, but I was in Iowa. He made a phone call to me asking--he was on his way to Nicaragua to observe whether or not a Presidential election at that time was going to be a fair election. He asked me if I would go along with him. I said the work of the Senate didn't allow me to do it at that particular time. So, obviously, I regretted that. Another time, he asked me--I think this was in the 2000 period of time, maybe around 2003, 2004, or 2005--he asked if I would come and speak to a Baptist group in Atlanta, GA, that he was leading. I had that opportunity to be there and to have a private conversation with him and his wife, the former First Lady. Carter answered the call to serve his Nation in many different ways.…”