Expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives Regarding the Terrorist Attacks Launched Against the United States on September 11, 2001

Floor Speech

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING THE TERRORIST ATTACKS LAUNCHED AGAINST THE UNITED STATES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 -- (House of Representatives - September 11, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman from New York, and I thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for bringing this to the floor.

Madam Speaker, I rise to speak on this resolution not as a Democrat but as an American.

September 11 is seared into my memory just as December 7 was for an earlier generation. Indeed, I know it is seared in the memory of every American.

It was a day of horror and of heroism, and each year it will be a day for us to renew our devotion to the ideals that make our Nation what it is, ideals of liberty, tolerance, equality, and the rule of law.

On this seventh anniversary, this resolution introduced by myself and the Republican leader, Mr. Boehner, recognizes September 11 as a day of remembrance and resolve. We mourn nearly 3,000 men, women, and children murdered. We pledge to keep their names alive and their memories fresh, and we pledge ourselves, once again, to those who loved and lost them.

And we recall the heroism of this day, the light of courage that shines brightest in the darkest hours. We remember the service and sacrifice of our first responders, firemen, policemen, medical personnel, average citizens; 343 firefighters, 37 Port Authority officers, 23 police officers. They served us unto death and they died in service.

We remember the heroic passengers of United Flight 93, ordinary Americans who found in themselves unthinkable reserves of heroism and saved the building in which we stand at the cost of their lives.

The Capitol's dome rises on this hill as a symbol of freedom and liberty and democracy. Surely that was the target of those terrorists, and they would have succeeded save for the extraordinary courage of the passengers of that flight.

We send our thoughts far away as well from this Chamber where our servicemen and women are serving and fighting in harm's way as we speak.

Inspired by each and every one of those sacrifices, let us renew our resolve. We commit ourselves to defending our people against any and all future threats. We remain steadfast in our commitment to disrupt, dismantle, defeat, and destroy terrorist networks that endanger all that we hold dear. We will devote to that cause all of our military might, all of our diplomatic skill, and all our moral force.

Americans have worked tirelessly to make our Nation safer. This Congress has passed, and the President signed, numerous laws to assist victims, combat terrorism, protect our homeland, and to support the members of our Armed Forces who defend our interests at home and around the world.

Most importantly of all, we adopted last year all of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. And now we must implement them.

We must keep working to keep America secure. We can always do more. And, as the chairman of the 9/11 Commission pointed out, we are not yet strong enough. Today is a reminder that in this uncertain century, even the most powerful Nation on Earth is vulnerable.

So let us add humility and watchfulness to our mourning because we are defending something greater and more powerful than our own lives. We are defending the same ideals to which our founders pledged more than two centuries ago, their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

We are defending the American ideals that stretch through our history and animate our spirit even today. And no attack, no attack, can break them.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join with Mr. Boehner and me in unanimously supporting this resolution of remembrance and resolve.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source