Expressing Sense Of The House Regarding September 11, 2001

Floor Speech

Expressing Sense Of The House Regarding September 11, 2001

* Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise on the eighth anniversary of September 11th to commemorate this momentous day in American history. My heart goes out to the thousands of innocent people who were taken from their loved ones and fellow citizens, and I am mindful of the many sacrifices made by the members of our armed forces and their families as they stand in harm's way to protect our great nation.

* The victims of the September 11th attacks were a microcosm of America. In the Twin Towers, on the hijacked planes, at the Pentagon, there were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends; there were millionaire bond traders and minimum wage busboys; there were service men and women, police officers and firefighters; there were people of every race and religion, from dozens of countries, all with their own dreams and disappointments; all bound by an invisible thread ..... our common humanity. And we are forever bound to them, and to each other.

* September 11th, 2001 was one of our nation's darkest days. But it illuminated some simple and important truths ..... that it means something special to be an American--something more than the happenstance of where you were born. It relates to the unending quest on the part of ``we the people'' to ``form a more perfect union'' and to a concept of the common good. Being an American means having a commitment to our collective well-being.

* In memory of all those who perished on September 11th, in respect to the survivors, in gratitude to the rescuers, and for the sake of ourselves and our posterity, I recall the words of President Kennedy: ``Let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.''

* Mr. Speaker, during the vote on H. Res. 722, a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the terrorist attacks launched against the U.S. on September 11th, 2001, I was absent from the House. I want my colleagues and constituents of the 2nd District of Wisconsin to know that I intended to vote yes on this resolution. I am grateful to my colleagues, Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Boehner, for their work in seeing it passed.

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