Late Nevada Senator Harry Reid’s body will be at the United States Capitol rotunda on January 12, 2022, a Wednesday. It is a fitting location because Reid spent years helping to shape the country in Washington. To be more precise, he served in the United States House of Representatives and the US Senate for 30 years. For the uninitiated, Reid died on December 28, 2021, of pancreatic cancer as an octogenarian.
Since the year 1852, the Rotunda has been serving as a location to honor the most distinguished US citizens with public viewings. Up to 12 American presidents and many other US citizens have had that opportunity to lie here in Washington. Reid received the honor after Senator Bob Dole from the Republican Party and Democratic Representative John Lewis of Georgia. It is a chance for Congress members to pay tributes to the senator.
The Majority Leader of the US Senate, Charles Ellis Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Patricia Pelosi of the US House of Representatives made a statement to announce the said honor. The event on January 12, 2022, will only have a limited number of guests thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Schumer described Reid as a strong, compassionate and caring man who made a special effort to help people and who never forgot his background. Schumer stated that he would miss his mentor and dear friend. He finds it a privilege to honor the senator at the Capitol building in the coming week. He also stated that Reid dedicated his career and life to delivering for America’s working families.
Reid played a part in bringing landmark laws in the United States of America, such as the Obamacare Act as well as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. According to Schumer, Reid’s highest achievement was to help Former President Barack Obama in passing the aforementioned act. Reid played a part in securing the sixty-vote majority needed to make Obama sign the so-called Affordable Care Act into law.
When he spoke for the last time in the US Senate, Reid stated that he wished that the law was in existence in Searchlight, the place where he grew up. In his last senatorial speech, Reid also underlined the lack of access to healthcare in Searchlight. Reid started his five-decade-long career as a Nevada State Assembly member.
Pelosi described Reid as a US public service titan who worked persistently for those families as they were his own families. According to Pelosi, he is among the most important and commanding majority leaders ever in the US Senate. Pelosi stated that Reid contributed to the following.
- Great legislative progress
- Bringing the US economy back in the recession in the late nineties period
- Protecting hardworking US families through Wall Street regulations
- Moving the US closer to its universal health coverage objective
The funeral of Reid will take place at 11:00 am on January 08, 2022, at Las Vegas’ Smith Center for the Performing Arts.