[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 156 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11717-S11718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                 THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, times of adversity have always 
been fertile soil in which to find triumphs of the

[[Page S11718]]

human spirit. As an old English proverb so eloquently put it, ``A 
Smooth sea never made a skilled mariner. Trials are not enemies of 
faith but are opportunities to prove God's faithfulness.''
  The events of Tuesday, September 11 will never be forgotten. Nor will 
we forget how this Nation has changed since that fateful day. In the 
weeks since the horrendous attacks on our country, there has been no 
shortage of stories about the heroic acts of everyday men and women who 
put their own lives on the line to help others. By now we've all heard 
the story of United flight 93 that crashed in rural Pennsylvania. By 
all accounts, the passengers, after discovering their hijackers 
sinister plan, rushed the cockpit and sacrificed their own lives in 
saving people on the ground. These were regular citizens placed in an 
unimaginable situation. They saved people, likely right here in this 
building, who never knew they were in danger.
  But then we know that whenever times have gotten tough in this 
country, Americans have always stepped up to answer the call. We 
remember the story of Clara Barton, a woman who learned about medicine, 
and rushed to the battlefields of the Civil War to tend to the wounded. 
There were also the women who filled factories and other places of 
business during World War II when their husbands, fathers, and brothers 
left to fight. These women did what, at the time, had never been done 
before. They provided needed support, and carried our country during an 
unparalleled time of need.
  Books of American history are full of stories about ordinary people 
accomplishing unbelievable things. The pages about today's events still 
awaiting the ink of hindsight will be no different. I would like to say 
now, that the men and women who work on Capitol Hill will be among the 
heroes history will remember.
  I have been amazed at the strength of the men and women, many of them 
recently graduated from college, on my staff who have come to work 
every day since the attacks, prepared and ready to serve their country 
in the face of possible terrorist attacks or biological warfare. These 
men and women have risen to the occasion and answered the call of duty. 
Our interns, on their tour of duty in our Nation's Capitol without pay 
and far from home, come each day ready to work and willing to serve. 
Even when the Capitol complex was shut down, the 26,000 men and women 
who work in the six House and Senate office buildings scrambled to find 
alternate workspace and were always on call.
  These attacks have left us feeling afraid and violated, but, my 
friends, our Nation has never been stronger. If that fact is ever 
doubted, just look up to the windows of the Dirksen Building with a 
flag in almost every window. Go to the offices of members whose 
colleagues continue to be displaced due to anthrax closings where they 
share conference rooms, computers and phone lines, all in the name of 
doing the business of the American people. If the attackers plan was to 
drive us apart, they have failed. I would like to thank each member of 
my staff for their service to me, and to this great country.
  At this time I would like to place into the Record the names of the 
men and women on my staff who have served in the aftermath of the 
September 11 attacks.
  Cooper Allen, Michael Andel, Daniel Barton, Krista Boyd, Macio 
Cameron, Amanda Cooper, Adel Durani, Eric Easley, Eileen Force, 
Elizabeth Gladden, Charlie Godwin, Lori Gregory, Marilouis Hudgins, 
Elaine Iler, Farrar Johnston, Bill Johnstone, Tamara Jones, Lynn 
Kimmerly, Jamie Mackay, Neil Martin, Glen Marken, Matt McKenna, 
Patricia Murphy, Mark Pascu, Michel Pearis, Allison Priebe, Simon 
Sargent, Mark Stedham, Jane Terry, Steve Tryon, Donni Turner, Andrew 
Van Landingham, Charlotte Voorde, Derek Walters, and Adnan 
Zulfiqar.

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