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Remembering Senator Harry Reid

Former senator Harry (D-NV) Reid passed Tuesday, December 28.

He was one of the longest running and most impactful senators Congress had the pleasure of working with, serving from 1987 to 2015.

Reid branded himself as a hard worker from Searchlight, NV who "wasn't a genius", nor the "best looking."


RELATED: A good read about Reid, oppositions included.

Scores of colleagues, friends, and naturally the Biden administration, shared their thoughts and remembrances of Reid. 

Wrote President Biden, "During the two decades we served together in the United States Senate, and the eight years we worked together while I served as Vice President, Harry met the marker for what I’ve always believed is the most important thing by which you can measure a person—their action and their word."

Vice President Kamala Harris remembered Reid as the person who "made a meaningful difference in people’s lives", recounting how he had worked for working families and the poor.

President Biden credited Reid for helping pass the Recovery Act to prevent another Great Depression, helping to pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and was instrumental in ending the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. 

"If Harry said he would do something, he did it", wrote Biden. "If he gave you his word, you could bank on it. That’s how he got things done for the good of the country for decades."

In Reid's honor, the president created a proclamation on Wednesday.

Senator Reid was also instrumental in getting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obama Care, passed and was one of several people who encouraged a little-known Chicago senator to run for the highest position in the land. 

In a penned letter to Reid, President Barack Obama wrote, "You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect." Adding, "I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn't have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination."

READ: Reid on Obama's "skin color", "dialect."

In September, Reid wrote an opt-ed for The Hill newspaper in support of the Biden tax plan where he admonished the rich to pay their fair share in taxes, writing in part, "In order to truly 'Build Back Better', we need a tax system where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. It's as simple as that. 

Reid succumbed to a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 82. Flags at government buildings will be flown at half staff.

SEE ALSO: The Reid life and times: boxer, friend, husband, former capital police officer. 

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