OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

September 11th

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 12, 2017
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Arts, Entertainment, and History Criminal Justice

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Mr. Speaker, September 11, 2001 was on a Tuesday.

I remember watching the horrible destruction unfold, and thinking that the world would change for all of us. In those days and weeks after 9/11, Americans from the South Asian, Muslim, and Arab American community were subjected to hate crimes simply because of how they looked. Muslim students were pulled out of school because of fear for their safety, Sikh men were shot at for their turbans, and many of us were told to go home, back to our own country--even though America is our home.

But in the wake of that destruction, I was part of forming powerful coalitions to fight against hate of all kinds and to protect our civil rights and civil liberties.

As we reflect on the events of that day and honor first responders and those who lost their lives, let us also remember that America's true values are about equal rights for all, inclusivity, resilience, generosity and abundance.

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