MR. SMITH of New Jersey
I thank my good friend, the distinguished ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for yielding. And Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution.
Despite the passage of seven years, Madam Speaker, the scars from the attack on our country on September 11, 2001 remain. They remain from the loss of the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children, including over 50 men and women from my own district, the 4th District of New Jersey.
Over the course of these several years—as a matter of fact, almost right away—I got to know several of the widows and loved ones and was so moved and impressed by their love for the victims. Their loss was—is—excruciatingly painful. But the families also had a great sense that we needed to do more to ensure that this never happens again. And whether it be the “Jersey Girls” who walked the halls of this Congress, strongly advocating for the establishment of the 9/11 Commission, or others—I even actually hired one of the individuals who lost a loved one in my office to do casework. And her sensitivity and her sense of concern for those who suffered irreparable loss that day has been inspiring to me as it has been to members of our delegation New Jersey and so many others as well.
The scars remain, obviously, Madam Speaker, in the painful void in the lives of the families who sought in vain to make sense of their tragic loss. And the scars remain embedded in the fabric of our society, which has had to learn to cope with the reality of a world where indiscriminate, large-scale attacks on human life are a constant threat.
Madam Speaker, while recognizing the extraordinary efforts and courage of America’s first responders—the firefighters, police officers, and other emergency response personnel, the heroes—it was also apparent from the terrorist attacks that our Nation had much to learn. We had to craft policies to better protect our people.
I was one of those, among so many others, who advocated early and consistently for a commission to chronicle the facts, missteps, and opportunities lost leading up to the tragedy and to develop a well-informed, thoughtful strategy to reduce the risk of an attack. The 9/11 Commission—that was chaired so ably by Governor Tom Kean, the former Governor of New Jersey, and former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Lee Hamilton—issued an historic, incisive report, a comprehensive report which, together with subsequent legislation, was thoroughly examined by House and Senate committees, but virtually all of the recommendations were enacted into law. The whole thrust, post 9/11, Madam Speaker, is to mitigate and, God willing, prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.
Madam Speaker, we must be diligent in searching for and implementing new means for responding to developing threats. Our enemies are constantly searching for our vulnerabilities, and our ability to remain ahead of them is critical to our very survival.
I want to thank Mr. Hoyer for introducing this piece of legislation, which gives us the opportunity to have an official solemn expression. It extends our deepest condolences to all who suffered the loss of a loved one as a result of the attacks here in Washington and in New York and in Pennsylvania. To honor those who courageously risked and even sacrificed their lives, some firefighters went up those stairs at the World Trade Center knowing that it was fraught with unbelievable danger to their own lives. The legislation recognizes the service and sacrifice of our military personnel and their families who continue to strive to protect our country both here and abroad, and to continue to take all appropriate actions, and to do so, I would submit, in a bipartisan way to defend and protect our Nation.
This is a very good resolution and very solemn day for America.
