[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 492 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         July 22, 2002.
Whereas on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four civilian aircraft, 
        crashing two of them into the towers of the World Trade Center in New 
        York City, causing their destruction;
Whereas these were by far the deadliest terrorist attacks ever launched against 
        the United States, claiming the lives of more than 3,000 innocent 
        people, of whom 2,823 died in New York City;
Whereas the debris from the destruction of the World Trade Center towers was 
        taken to Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New York, for cleanup 
        and investigation and to continue the recovery of victim remains and 
        effects that could not be performed at the site of the towers' collapse 
        in Manhattan;
Whereas over the 10-month period following September 11, 2001, more than 1,000 
        workers at the landfill, around the clock, every day, tirelessly and 
        carefully sifted through all 1.62 million tons of debris from the World 
        Trade Center site, searching for remains, personal effects, and evidence 
        from what is now considered to be history's largest crime scene;
Whereas these workers came from 28 New York City, State, and Federal agencies to 
        participate in these cleanup and recovery efforts;
Whereas these workers recovered approximately 20 percent of all the victim 
        remains recovered following the towers' collapse, as well as more than 
        54,000 personal items, from wedding rings and photographs to driver 
        licenses and keys;
Whereas the remains of 188 of the 1,215 World Trade Center victims whose remains 
        have been identified and returned to their families were recovered at 
        the landfill;
Whereas the resolve of the Nation, and especially of New York City, has been 
        strengthened by the dedication, meticulousness, compassion, and 
        tenderness of those who worked tirelessly, day after day, for 10 months 
        to retrieve every item possible that might give the families and friends 
        of those lost some solace or closure;
Whereas these workers sought to help victims' families by finding something to 
        help bring to rest lost husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, 
        fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, lifelong friends, and 
        coworkers, perhaps even those close to the workers themselves;
Whereas the long hours, the hard work, and the dedication of these workers over 
        the 10 months following September 11, 2001, brought hundreds of families 
        some sort of peace, giving them back something personal of lost loved 
        ones, whether through a positive identification of a victim's remains or 
        the return of something so simple and yet so meaningful as a wedding 
        ring, a watch, or a wallet;
Whereas the sacrifice of all these workers and their willingness to give of 
        themselves to help others has shown that the best of what mankind has to 
        offer can come even from the worst mankind can do; and
Whereas on July 15, 2002, the cleanup and recovery operations at Fresh Kills 
        Landfill on Staten Island, New York, came to a somber conclusion: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives thanks and pays tribute to all 
those whose 10 months of efforts at Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, New 
York, to clean up the debris from the site of the World Trade Center, and to 
recover the remains and effects of the victims, following the terrorist attacks 
of September 11, 2001, helped to bring healing and closure to the victims' 
families and loved ones, to New York, and to the Nation.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.