Fox News legal correspondent David Spunt reflects on the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter on ‘Fox News Live.’
One of the late presidents Jimmy CarterHis most notable contribution that shaped modern America was his work to transform the commercial aviation industry.
While Carter is known for his various humanitarian, economic, and unity efforts, one of his main efforts was advocating for the deregulation of the commercial airline industry to improve the passenger experience and create convenient air travel for the average American worker.
The former president signed the bipartisan Air Transportation Deregulation Act on October 24, 1978, to prohibit “States from regulating the prices, routes, or services of an airline for the purpose of maintaining the competitiveness of national commercial air transportation.”
Once the law was signed, airlines were allowed to choose their own routes and determine how much they would charge passengers for airfare.
CONSERVATIVE HISTORIAN SAYS JIMMY CARTER HAD ONE OF THE ‘GREAT SECOND ACTS’ IN AMERICAN HISTORY
“The fundamental force that unites us is not kinship, descent, or religious affiliation. The love of liberty is the common blood that runs through our American veins,” Carter once said. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
After the removal of federal control over aviation industryeconomists Robert Crandall of the Brookings Institution and Jerry Ellig of George Mason University reported in 1997 that savings reached about $40 and $60 billion a year, nearly one percent of national income.
Speaking in May at a mental health forum at the Carter Center in Atlanta, grandson Jason Carter said his grandfather is “doing well” and continues to appreciate the “outpouring of love” his family has received since the death of his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
“My grandfather is doing well. He’s been in hospice, as you know, for almost a year and a half and he’s really, I think, coming to the end,” Jason Carter said at the 28th The Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum. “I’ve said before, there’s a part of this journey of faith that’s so important to him, and there’s a part of that journey of faith that you can only live at the very end, and I think he was there in that space.”
Carter was sworn in as the 39th President of the United States in 1977 and was the oldest living president, aged 100 when he died.
“I’ve had a wonderful life, I have thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and fulfilling life,” Carter said reflecting on his life.
While serving as governor of Georgia in 1975, Carter decided to take his political career one step further: to the White House. Democrat he defeated then current president Gerald Ford, in a race he won with 297 to 241 electoral votes.
10/25/1978-Washington, DC: President Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act into law at the White House to begin phasing out federal control of the nation’s airlines. (Getty Images / Fox News)
From the beginning, he always had a compassionate heart and relied on his Christian faith throughout his life, a trait that left an influential mark on his presidency and life after leaving office.
“Obviously, I prayed about it. I didn’t ask God to let me live, but I just asked God to give me the right attitude towards death. And I discovered that I am absolutely and completely at peace with death. I didn’t it doesn’t matter if I die or if I live,” Carter said, according to CBS News.
“From that time I was absolutely convinced that my Christian faith included a complete confidence in life after death. So I will live again after I die – I don’t know what form I will take, or anything, but I have confidence that there is a God, and he is omnipotent, and he keeps his promises, and he promises life after death.”
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The former president died on Sunday at the age of 100 after moving to hospital in February 2023 to spend his remaining time at home.
FOX Business’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
