Larson Salutes President Kennedy’s Legacy on House Floor Ahead of the 62nd Anniversary of His Assassination

Click here to view Rep. Larson’s remarks. 

“And it is we who carry on from this very person, who served in this chamber and in the United States Senate and went on to become the President of the United States, and as important, a leader not only for this nation, but the world, but especially in noting and especially in these times, Madam Speaker, that it's service above self that matters — service to the nation, service to your family, your community and your state that matters most,” said Larson. “I rise to salute the life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.” 

View the full transcript of Rep. Larson’s remarks below. 

“Madam Speaker, this Saturday, November 22nd, will mark 62 years since we lost a President of the United States — a person who gave so much to his nation, an individual who was taken from us in the summer of his years. His daughter, Caroline, back in 2017, gave us these buttons that I — pins that I proudly wear, which is an image of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.  

“President Kennedy epitomized placing service above self — national hero, a leader who had the grace, the dignity, the wit, the intelligence, and the love of his nation and mankind. This past year, we also lost someone by the name of Connie Francis, who wrote a song, or sang a song would probably be more appropriate, at the time called ‘The Summer Of His Years.’ That song, I'll paraphrase, she wrote, ‘a young man rode with his head held high under the Texas sun, [and] no one guessed that a man so blessed would perish by the gun, Lord, would perish by the gun. A shot rang out like a sudden shout, and Heaven held its breath, [for] the dreams of a multitude of [man] rode with him to his death. Yes, the heart of the world weighs heavy with the [helplessness of tears] for the man [cut] down in a Texas town in the summer of his years. The summer of his years.’ 

“And it is we who carry on from this very person, who served in this chamber and in the United States Senate and went on to become the President of the United States, and as important, a leader not only for this nation, but the world, but especially in noting and especially in these times, Madam Speaker, that it's service above self that matters — service to the nation, service to your family, your community, and your state that matters most. I rise to salute the life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I yield back.”