Fox News justice correspondent David Spunt reflects on the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter on ‘Fox News Live.’
One of the late President Jimmy Carter’s most notable contributions to shaping modern America was his work to transform the commercial airline industry.
While Carter is known for his various humanitarian, economic and unity efforts, one of his key efforts was advocating for deregulation of the commercial airline industry in order to elevate the passenger experience and create affordable air travel for the average American worker.
The former president signed the bipartisan Airline Deregulation Act on October 24, 1978, to prohibit “states from regulating the price, route, or service of an air carrier for the purpose of keeping national commercial air travel competitive.”
After the bill was signed into law, airlines were allowed to choose their own routes and determine how much they would charge passengers for air travel.
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“The basic force that unites us is not kinship, origin or religious preference. The love of freedom is a common blood that flows in our American veins,” Carter once said. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
After federal deregulation of the airline industry, economists Robert Crandall of the Brookings Institution and Jerry Ellig of George Mason University reported in 1997 that the savings amounted to about $40 billion 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 was “doing well” and continued to appreciate the “outpouring of love” his family has received since his wife’s death. his, former first. Mrs. Rosalynn Carter.
“My grandfather is doing well. He’s been in hospice, you know, for almost a year and a half now, and really, I think he’s coming to the end,” Jason Carter said on the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental. Health Forum. “I’ve said before, there’s a part of this faith journey that’s so important to him, and there’s a part of that faith journey that you can only live at the end, and I think he’s been there in that space.”
Carter was sworn in as the 39th President of the United States in 1977 and was the oldest living president, at 100 years old when he died.
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“I’ve had a wonderful life, I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and enjoyable existence,” Carter previously said reflecting on his life.
Serving as governor of Georgia in 1975, Carter decided to take his political career one step further: to the White House. The Democrat defeated then-President Gerald Ford in a contest won by 297 to 241 electoral votes.
10/25/1978-Washington, DC: President Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Bill into law at the White House to begin phasing out federal control of the nation’s airlines. (Getty Images/Fox News)
Early on, he always had a compassionate heart and relied on his Christian faith throughout his life, a trait that left an influential imprint on his presidency and life after leaving office.
“I, of course, prayed about it. I didn’t ask God to let me live, but I just asked God to give me the right attitude toward death. And I realized that I was absolutely and completely at peace with death. There’s not much it doesn’t matter to me whether I’m dead or alive,” Carter said, according to CBS News.
“Since that time, I have been absolutely certain that my Christian faith includes full belief in life after death. So, I will live again after I die – I don’t know what form I will take, or anything other. but I believe that there is a God, and he is almighty and keeps his promises and promises life after death.”
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The former president died at the age of 100 on Sunday after moving into the hospice in February 2023 to spend his remaining time at home.
FOX Business’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
