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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, this morning, I stood at Ground Zero in New York, joining President Biden, Vice President Harris, New York leaders, and thousands of New Yorkers to mark the 23rd anniversary of 9/11. So many of those who lost loved ones were there remembering. It has been 23 years.

Every day, I wear this flag pin in my lapel as a reminder of our sacred promise to never forget. Today, the pin is a little heavier. I called the day after 9/11--9/12--I called on Americans to wear the flag, to display it out their windows or wear it on their clothing as a show of solidarity and a show of our anguish over so many who were lost and, at that time, missing. I have worn the flag every day since--every day since--because I never forget.

I knew people who were lost: a guy I played basketball with in high school; a businessman who helped me on the way up; a firefighter I went around the city with, urging people to donate blood. And so it is a tough day.

It has been 23 years since 9/11, but I remember it like yesterday-- the smell of the pile, the images of destruction that New Yorkers had never seen before. I remember the chilling and other-worldly images of people lining up on the sidewalks, hundreds of them with pictures because no one knew who was dead or who wasn't. Unfortunately, very few survived.

But the pictures: ``Have you seen my daughter Mary?'' ``Have you seen my brother John?'' I will never forget them. And I had some of those pictures donated to the 9/11 museum.

I remember people I knew, as I said, who died in the attack. But I also remember the heroism: first responders disregarding their own safety and running toward danger to save others. I remember New Yorkers going out of their way to help each other; complete strangers joining to pray together, grieve together, and work together to rebuild and heal.

Many had run down those stairs to escape the conflagration in the towers and left their shoes behind. And right a block away was a guy with a shoestore just handing out shoes to people. That is the kind of people New Yorkers are and Americans are.

Twenty-three years later, our sacred obligation to care for the survivors and their families continues. In the last 2 years, I secured nearly $1.7 billion in funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, which helps first responders and survivors treat cancers and respiratory sicknesses and mental health and more. I thank Senator Gillibrand, who has been a great partner on this, and the New York delegation in the House--bipartisan.

Earlier this year, we introduced legislation to make funding for this program permanent so that our 9/11 heroes and families don't have to keep coming down to Washington to ask and advocate for the care they deserve.

In the last Congress, I was proud to work with my colleagues to pass the Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, which finally compensated those who were wrongly left out of the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.

That is what ``never forget'' means. It is not a passive promise. It is an active commitment to work every day to ensure that survivors of those terrible days are provided for. It is a prayer that America may find the strength and grace to always endure; to always weather the storm; to always come back from adversity stronger, more united than before, and never turn on each other but to be unified in our strength and our camaraderie.

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