Blunt, representative emmanuel cleveland the second, and mr. Clifton truman daniel. [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable Nancy Pelosis speaker of the United States health of representatives. [applause] as speaker of the house, it is my privilege to welcome you to the United States capitol as we celebrate our nations finest president s, president harry truman. Its only fitting that this is in independence missouri takes his rightful place in the rotunda of our temple of democracy, the United States capitol. Now at this time, please rise as you are able for the presentation of colors and for the national anthem. Oh say can [inaudible] you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the invocation delivered by Senate Chaplain doctor barry black. Let us pray. Eternal god creator of the great lives we praise you for this statute dedication that honors the laudable life of harry s truman, the 33rd president s of the United States. Lord, we are grateful for his numerous contributions that helped protect and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies. We celebrate that he helped our nation navigate through world war ii. We are thankful for the truman doctrine, the berlin airlift, the creation of the United Nations and the end of a racial segregation in the United States armed forces that occurred during his presidency. Lord, you brought him from Humble Beginnings and used them even his setbacks to provide him with stepping stones to greater usefulness. Inspired by his notable life, give us the wisdom to permit our reach to exceed our grasp, the courage, the creativity and commitments. We pray in your sovereign name, amen. Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable nancy pelosi, speaker of the United States house of representatives. Now, this is what you all came for. Its my special honor to invite president trumans grandsons clifton and his wife polly, and Thomas Washington daniel. Alex burden and dr. Kirk of the Truman Library institute, members of the missouri congressional delegation, both house and senate, and what, i might, add current and past leaders mccarthy and mcconnell. And together, we will unveil the spectacular statue. [applause] [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, mr. Clifton truman daniel, monterrey chairman of the Truman Library institute and board secretary for the truman scholarship fund. Thank you, madam speaker. Senator blunt, congressman cleaver, leader mcconnell, leader mccarthy, family, friends, thank you again, senator blunt and congressman cleaver, chairman and the board of the Truman Library institute, alex burden, and the institutes staff, doctor kurt graham and the library staff, the generous donors, friends, supporters, lawmakers who helped make the state possible. My grandfather was a modest man and, frankly, slightly embarrassed by statues. His president ial library is an educational institution, rather than a monument to him. But were here with us today, he would be honored and humbled. He loved the United States of america, he loved the work of government, he loved this very building. He took the job seriously, but never himself. He was open and approachable as tom corbins excellent statue depicts. He has been called an uncommon common man. Of all his accomplishments, the marshall plan, nato, the truman doctrine, the desegregation of the Armed Services, and i think the most significant was reminding us that a farmer, a citizen a shoulder, a Small Businessman, can rise to the highest office in this land and do a better job of it than almost anybody else. That is the promise of this nation. The promise that same ability lives within each one of us. He did what he did for the greater, good not the greater glory. He always said it was amazing how much you could get it done if you didnt care who got the credit. His favorite epitaph in tucson arizona, reads here lies jack williams. He had done his damnedest. He was an honest, hardworking, empathetic, and sensible human being. And i leave you today with my familys deep gratitude and a quote that illustrates those qualities in my grandfather. Do your duty and history will do you justice. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable Emanuel Cleaver the second, representative from the Fifth District of missouri. The statue proves that government can work and work it quickly. This only took us 20 years. [laughter] it is an honor to join you today as we gather to commemorate the return of the man from missouri to the United States capitol, with the unveiling and congressional dedication to president harry truman. I think trumans hometown of independence, missouri, is probably floating around above the ground with pride. I want to start by thanking the sculptor, tom corbin, the Truman Library institute, ted foreign and my colleague, friend, and neighbor, Russ Carnahan. Without whose help this would not have been possible. Born and raised in missouri, harry truman was a man of remarkable character and a shiny example of what it means to live the american dream. From a small farm in the heartland to the pinnacle of power in the United States senate. Truman demonstrated that through hard work, determination, and perseverance, anyone can overcome the odds and change the world for the better. Throughout his life journey, harry truman wore many hats from family farmer, to captain in the u. S. Army during world war i, habitat shirt to counter doug, senator, to Vice President , and ultimately, president of the United States. With an eight cents a Public Service, captain harry truman, left his farm to serve his country in world war i. He was one of many young men you answered the call to defend Freedom Abroad and the great war, upon returning, home he continued his Public Service by launching a career in politics. And after sometime, it was elected to United States senate. , there he took important strides to cut down on government waste and corruption, raising his popularity with the public and helping make him the selection as roosevelt running mates in 1944. While he wasnt looking to climb the ladder as success quickly, 82 days into his vice presidency, he got the call to step up when president roosevelt died. Then he was determined to meet the mercurial moment. President truman once said, progress occurs with courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better and that he did. During his presidency, he embodied those words as he faced many challenges and difficult decisions that he navigated with principal and with his purposeful personality. I personally want to praise president truman for being the first president to deliver a speech at the National Association of the advancement of colored people on june 29th 1947 at their annual convention. The following the, air he helped america take another step toward fulfilling our promise of freedom and equality for all by enacting executive order 99 80, which desegregates the federal workforce and the military. With these necessary steps, president truman helped create a black middle class that enabled African Americans to advance and society and participate in the prosperity of this great nation. From ending world war ii, to forming the United Nations and nato, to charting a course for civil rights, by disagreeing the Armed Services and federal workforce, every measure upon which president s are scrutinized, truman is possibly one of our nations greatest leaders. President sherman insisted on being his most authentic self, refused to curry favor to those who chose to approach progress with a caution and crafted an indelible legacy of challenging the status quo and assuming the role of leadership. I can think of no greater person to represent the state of missouri and the citadel of democracy where he may continue to inspire the countless visitors who are hosted each year here in the capital. From this may 4th, may Harry Trumans statue serve as a reminder of his courage, encourage we need to have to take on the projects that will help build this nation. From a congressional colleagues, now we too should accept the responsibility as the truman and declare the buck stops here. Truman leaves a long shadow cast by his leadership upon us. President truman, i dont know how the earth well real operates, but if you can hear me, if there are antagonists even in zion, give them heck, harry. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable roy blunt, the United States senator from missouri. Well, on april the 12th, 1945, harry truman had come over to this building as clifton mentioned, he loved the capital, he loves working in the senate, if you come to this building and not too far from here in a room the speaker still probably calls the board of education, he enzyme were going over the events of the day and whatever they might want to talk about that they. I know it was passed into the Vice President , you need to come to the white house. Something has happend. There are lots of things happening in april 1945. Its hard to know what harry truman might have been thinking about when he went to the white house. Later that day, before history, since his mother was already finding this out, he wrote his mother a letter before you went to bed that night. In the letter he said, today i went to the white house. Thinking i was going to see the president. I got there and found out i was the president. No president in such a short period of time made more consequential decisions than harry truman. Ending the war in europe, had to deal with the soviets, how, to look at transitioning back to a peacetime economy, what to do about ending the war in japan, the United Nations. That is the first six months. All the things that Clifton Truman daniel mentioned that would be on that list of great accomplishments by harry truman were important. But if youve ever been in a job where you made decisions, just imagine the decisions he had to make and how quickly he had to make them. And how well he made them. When secretary of state detaining us had the first meeting with the president truman, he left the meeting and said to somebody right, away he seems like a man on usually willing to make decisions. And he understood the importance of making decisions. He did that based on incredible common sense and a great sense of history. Because of his eyesight, mrs. Truman was the athlete and the baseball player and he was the reader. Cliftons mother told me onetime she never saw her dad sit down at home when he didnt have a book and he understood the history of the country. He respected the history of the country. The last 12 years, ive had the great opportunity to use the offices he used in the ten years he was in the senate. The 82 days he was Vice President. I feel like ive benefited from thinking about those decisions he made and how he made them and what he did for the country. Its great for us today to see him now in the building he loved. And i democracy that he cherished. In a world that he made so much to design and create and make what it is today. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the u. S. Air force band singing sergeants. [applause] the honorable kevin mccarthy, republican leader of the United States house of representatives. Im very honored and delighted to welcome the statue of harry truman to the rotunda. It is at a Pivotal Moment in our nations future. Lets face it, todays world is dangerous. Communist china is growing more aggressive. Putins russia is mobilizing and escalating. And iran regime that murders its own people is inching closer to a nuclear weapon. These dangers echo the chaos and the complexity and the scope of the early cold war. As we confront these challenges we have the lessons of harry truman to guide us. Lesson number one, leadership matters. Truman shaped American Foreign policy by taking principled actions based upon the circumstances he faced. In march 1947, he laid the truman doctrine, pledging america would support free peoples against communism. In 1948, he approve the historic berlin airlift, which brought the people of berlin a food and medicine and even candy for more than a year. This forced the soviets to lift the blockade. Truman trusted americans exceptionalism, he understood that a successful u. S. Foreign policy begins with the idea that we should stand by our principles of freedom. Harry trumans lesson number two, friends and allies matter. One of his boldest actions as president , president truman ordered the United States to recognize the state of israel just 11 minutes after they were created. Truman remained a steadfast ally to israel. Because he knew the source of our friendship with israel randy. We said in 1952, israel has a glorious future before it. Not just as another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of civilization. The statue reaffirms our unbreakable commitment to israel and other allies. Which are based upon our shared values and interests. Harry trumans lesson number three, live up to our values. Truman knew that the fight for freedom was not restricted to distant lands. One of his shining moments as president was his commitment to challenging civil rights, including in our military. As it was early stated, on january 20, six 1940, eight president truman signed executive order 99 81, which made segregation and our military illegal. Truman understood the importance of living up to our founding values that we all created equal. And that is especially true when americans are fighting together in foxholes. Lesson number four by him in truman is on his statue. The buck stops here. I hope not as the policy makers walk through and they admire the statue, they read all the way down to the bottom. That was assigned that truman famously kept on his desk. It was his motto, his cota, his philosophy, of leadership. And his farewell address. Truman said the president , whoever he is, has to decide, he cant pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That is his job. Thatss sound advice. Not adjust to a president , but i think to a nation. Everyone should listen to it. Especially policy makers. Dont blame others for your failings, own them. Learn from them and fix them. Whatever the dangers today, it is important that we learn from history as we welcome the statue to the rotunda, trumans actions offer lessons for today, tomorrow, and of all time. Lets remember, lets work to build a nation that is safe. A future that is built on freedom and a government that is accountable. Thank you and god bless. Ladies and gentlemen, the honorable mitch mcconnell, republican leader of the United States senate. When harry truman was sworn in as our 33rd president , he had only held the job of a Vice President for eight tea todays. Overnight, this brandnew number two became our wartime commander and chief. He hadnt even been included in crucial briefings. But now he had to seat victory through to the finish. One of the many times harry truman displayed good judgment was when he tapped a kentuckian alvin barclay to be his running mate and 1948. Senator barkley was a dependable principal statesman he was known for his earnestness and dog of work. His fellow Senate Democrats had elected him leader six times. But now in this role he got a closeup look at how fdrs comparatively little known fourth Vice President was acquitted himself in the top job. He later writes and his memoirs that truman was, quote, a professional in the best sense of the word. That the president , quote, never allowed himself to become so personally exalted that a person could not talk to him as a fellow human being. We are all familiar with a long list of Historic Events from which president truman, helped lead our country. You have heard them. But im almost as impressed with the plain spoken, humble, midwestern character that he is reported to have maintained completely even as he was making all that history. The man who became the leader of the free world overnight, who unleashed unprecedented, literally awesome military power to force murdering pirates to sue for peace, and a key early architect for a new International System that helped keep the peace. By that person, by all accounts, remained a citizen and a neighbor first. From now on, thanks to another son of kansas city, tom corbin, millions of americans will be able to come face to face with our 33rd president as a human being. Right here at the epicenter of the republic that he ably served. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the honorable nancy pelosi, speaker of the United States house of representatives. Than