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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):

“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 that Americans can pay final respects to our nation’s 39th president.

“Madam President, it’s 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, Georgia, 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’d 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 his 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.

“Together with his wife Rosalynn, he founded the Carter Center, which, among other things, works for the eradication of disease in some of the poorest areas of the globe.

“Among the center’s successes is the almost total eradication of Guinea worm disease – a painful and devastating tropical disease whose cases numbered in the millions at the time the Carter Center was beginning its work.

“Through the first 10 months of 2024, there were just seven reported cases.

“An incredible legacy for anyone.

“But just part of President Carter’s.

“President Carter is also known for his work with Habitat for Humanity to provide affordable housing for those in need.

“And I do mean his work.

“President Carter didn’t just lend his name or image to Habitat.

“He built houses.

“He nailed it; drilled it; he installed toilets.

“Well into his 90s, you could find him in a hard hat on work sites participating like any other volunteer.

“In one early Habitat project he and Rosalynn worked on in New York City, the former first lady and the former president spent the week sleeping in the basement of a church with other volunteers.

“A characteristic example of unpretentiousness from a couple who lived all their lives in the modest house in Plains, Georgia, that they built long before the presidency.

“All told, the Carter Work Project at Habitat for Humanity has worked on 4,447 homes in 14 countries – including homes in Eagle Butte, in my state of South Dakota, which the Carters worked on during a 1994 trip to our state.

“It is unknown how many more homes have been built by volunteers who came to know about Habitat for Humanity through President Jimmy Carter.

“Madam President, it would be wrong to mention Jimmy Carter’s years of service without mentioning what animated them.

“Jimmy Carter saw his service as the natural outgrowth of his faith in Jesus Christ.

“‘… one of the best ways to practice my faith as a Christian,’ he would say, ‘is to participate in Habitat projects every year.’

“His life was about putting his religious principles into practice – whether that was through Habitat for Humanity, or through his other work.

“And of course anyone attracted by his example who wanted to learn more about the Christian faith could head down to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, to his Sunday School class, which he taught into his 90s.

“Madam President, I cannot close without mentioning Jimmy Carter’s 77-year-long marriage to his beloved wife, Rosalynn, who preceded him in death a year ago.

“And while I join all Americans in mourning the death of President Carter, I rejoice at the thought that he and Rosalynn are again together before the face of their Father.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the Carters’ children – with Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy – and with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“And I look forward to paying my respects to this public servant later today.

“Madam President, I yield the floor.”