Recognizing September 11 as a Day of Remembrance
RECOGNIZING SEPTEMBER 11 AS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE -- (House of Representatives - September 10, 2007)
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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I thank Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Boehner for cosponsoring this very important resolution to remember what happened on 9/11 6 years ago.
On that terrible day, our country received an assault that was personal, and it was vicious. Our country responded with unity and with clarity about our resolve to fight terrorism. On a personal basis, for the families who were affected, I want to thank them, the families of 9/11, for turning their grief and their sorrow into action. They inspired our country to form a 9/11 Commission, to have the Ð9/11 Commission recommendations passed into law and signed by President Bush this summer. For that, all of us who care about the security of our country and the safety of our people owe those families a deep debt of gratitude. We also owe them the sympathy that their lost ones, their loved ones, will always be in our hearts.
Earlier today, Mr. Speaker, I went to Ground Zero. I saw the rebuilding that is going on at that site. It is not without great sadness that one visits that hallowed ground. It is not without remembering when some of us visited the first time 6 years ago following the tragedy. At that time, it was total silence, no speaking, no photographs, just a somber evaluation of the destruction that had been wrought and about the lives that had been lost. Today, Ground Zero is rebuilding. It is rebuilding to remember, with a memorial to remember; and it is rebuilding to say to the terrorists that they have not won.
The main goal of terrorists is to terrorize, to instill fear. They don't care about lives. They don't care about buildings. They just want to make people afraid. They want to change the way we run our country, do our business, live our lives and honor our freedoms. But if that was their goal, they certainly have failed. Whether it is at the Pentagon, where a wreath will be laid tomorrow, or it is in Pennsylvania, where we will mourn that loss forever, or whether it is in New York City at Ground Zero, the American spirit is alive and well. Again, they have lost this fight because we will not change who we are. That is what they resent. That is what we will not relent on.
So to those families, thank you. We will always, again, carry your loved ones in our hearts; but thank you for turning grief into power, into law, into a safer America. To those courageous people who rushed in, whether it was the emergency services, the police and fire, whether it was just volunteers, people off the street going in trying to help, whether it was construction companies going in trying to clear the area, to them we also say thank you for their courage at Ground Zero.
But we owe them more, as well. So I hope that in our resolve to remember and to rebuild, to honor our freedoms and to honor our people, we will understand that we must honor a responsibility we have to those who tried to save lives at Ground Zero, who may have lost their health because of it. So in my trip to New York at Ground Zero and at City Hall, I talked to the mayor and the Governor about how we can work together in a bipartisan way to see what is fair and what can be done now so that fairness will prevail for these people, but that the message will be clear. God forbid if we are ever faced with another situation that we have a compact with our people that if we stand together, we will not stand alone if we are affected by another tragedy. It is very sad.
I thank Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Boehner for putting together this very excellent resolution. Following the vote later this evening, we will leave the Chamber and go down the steps of the Capitol to have a vigil on the eve of 9/11. As the distinguished majority leader, Mr. Hoyer, mentioned, 6 years ago, spontaneously, Members, Democrats and Republicans alike, came together and at his suggestion we sang ``God Bless America.'' He is too modest. We will do that again tonight. We will sing that song with all the sincerity in the world. Moved by its beauty, but also committed to its words, we know that God has truly blessed America with our men and women in uniform who are fighting terrorism, with our first responders who are our first line of defense in our community in ensuring homeland security and with all Americans joined together to never forget what happened on 9/11 and never forget that we are committed to our freedoms.
So don't forget, my colleagues, following the vote on this resolution, in about another hour, let's all join together. It will be one of the first memorials to 9/11 this year, once again, on the steps of the Capitol. With that, I commend Mr. Boehner and Mr. Hoyer.
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