On the recordJanuary 7, 2025
Madam President, later today, President Jimmy Carter will arrive here at the Capitol for the last time. He will lie in state until Thursday in the Capitol Rotunda so Americans can pay final respects to our Nation's 39th President. It is the great American story--how a man or woman can rise from humble origins to the highest levels of government or business or academia--and it was Jimmy Carter's story. Born in 1924 in Plains, GA, he grew up on a peanut farm, in a house that had no running water or electricity. President was probably not the first thing people would have thought of when considering his future career. Most might have thought that he would end up running the family farm, as, indeed, he did for a while. But he decided to also dip his toe into politics, and, within 14 years, he had gone from taking up office in the Georgia State Senate to taking up office as President of the United States. His Presidency was notable for a number of things, including successful brokering of a peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, an agreement that stands to this day. But it was, perhaps, his post- Presidency that came to define his legacy the most. Jimmy Carter left office in 1981, and during the four decades that followed, he dedicated himself to making a difference to the causes of peace and human rights and to improving the wellbeing of his fellow man.…





