WASHINGTON  -  U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) today offered a tribute to
President Ronald Reagan in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

 

Emerson spoke as the House considered a resolution to approve the use of the Capitol for state ceremonies surrounding Reagan’s funeral and a bill, H.R. 664, to honor him for his lifetime of service to the American people.  Both articles of legislation passed by unanimous votes.

 

“Reagan was a great president who left his indelible influence on America – not just on politics, but on our way of life.  He redefined the concept of freedom for Americans and restored our pride in our country,” Emerson said.

 

Memorial services and events will be held in Washington starting today to honor President Reagan.  On Friday at 11:30 a.m. EDT, Emerson will attend the state funeral at the National Cathedral, presided over by former Missouri Senator John Danforth.

 

In her remarks before the House, Emerson remembered Reagan as a leader who could connect with every American.  Specifically, she recalled the first time her daughter, Katharine, met President Reagan.  The full text of Emerson’s remarks follows.

                               
                               
                               
        Statement of U.S. Representative Jo Ann Emerson
           in the House of Representatives
           June 9, 2004
                               

As we mourn the passing of President Ronald Reagan, I remember one experience in
1985 that, to me, defines President Reagan best.  It was my daughter Katharine’s first
visit to the White House with the Emerson family.

 

As we approached the Oval Office, outside of which we were to wait for the president, the door swung open.  Katharine had been obediently holding my hand, but at that moment she broke away from me and ran towards President Reagan.  The Secret Service men standing between us and the president moved to stop her.

 

“No, no,” President Reagan calmly said to them.  Katharine flew past them and
jumped into the president’s arms.  He lifted her up high.

 

The genuine joy on both of their faces struck me then.  Today, the memory reminds
me that as strong a man as he was, President Reagan could easily match the
enthusiastic happiness of a two-year-old.

 

Even before she met him, Ronald Reagan was my daughter’s hero.

 

It was not the president’s rhetoric that won her.  It was not his stalwart countenance
under the distress of terror in the Middle East, his unwavering courage in the face of
Communism, or his passionate leadership in the shadow of a nuclear threat.   Not
even the lure of the jellybean jar on his desk made Reagan a great man to Katharine.

 

Plainly put – the quality that won her was the same one that won us all – his sincerity.

 

He was quintessentially American.  He was a Midwesterner.  He was a success story.
He was a visionary.  And finally, Ronald Reagan was not just a leader whom we
believed in; he was a leader who believed in us.

 

But when I remember Ronald Reagan, I think of him calling off the Secret Service
agents and happily sweeping Katharine up in his arms. 

 

He swept us all up that same way, and the tide of sincerity on which he carried us is
the same one welling up in the eyes of our nation now.

 

A photo of Katharine in President Reagan’s arms, taken seconds after she defied us
to pursue a hug from her hero, today hangs in the front room of my Washington
office.  Every time I walk through that door, I see the photo and think of him as
millions of us do: as a member of our family.