[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 106 (Thursday, July 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H7784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSION OF PROFOUND SORROW TO FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THOSE ABOARD 
                             TWA FLIGHT 800

  (Mr. GEPHARDT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to express my personal 
sadness at the loss of 229 passengers and crewmembers, as a 747 
airplane bound for Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean last night.
  It is hard to even find words for the pain and confusion and grief 
that I feel and that all of us feel. I am especially concerned that 
some crewmembers and passengers might be from my own town of St. Louis. 
But we do know from news reports that wherever they came from, the 
victims include schoolchildren, and parents with children left behind.
  This is a time for all Americans to come together, and grieve 
together, to realize that while there may be no way to make sense of 
this kind of tragedy, no way to find meaning in its loss, it is a 
reminder of how precious our lives and our community really are.
  On behalf of the Congress, I can only say that we are committed to 
finding the facts that lay behind this profound tragedy. In the 
meantime, my heart goes out to the families and friends of those aboard 
flight 800, and those still waiting to learn if a friend or a loved one 
may have been on board. Their loss is our loss, and we stand with them 
in this terrible and difficult time.

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