[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 159 (Friday, November 16, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H8332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         VISIT NATION'S CAPITAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this afternoon not only 
to wish a happy holiday to my colleagues, but to ask them this 
Thanksgiving to carry a message home. I ask my colleagues to ask their 
constituents to visit them and visit their Nation's capital.
  This is one way to send a visible, powerful message to the 
terrorists. Let them see Americans streaming into their capital to show 
they simply cannot be terrorized. The city has been hurt by September 
11 because September 11 continues for us. It simply has not stopped. 
First came September 11. But then came the shutdown of National 
Airport, the only airport in the United States to be shut down, and it 
was shut down for 3 entire weeks. Try to think of your hometown without 
an airport.
  Then came fear of flying and then fear of anthrax. Nothing has 
happened in our city and in our country since September 11. The only 
people to be struck by anthrax are those who worked in the back room of 
Brentwood. Even those who opened the envelope in the Hart Building have 
not gotten the disease. Surely people coming to the city have nothing 
to fear. The closedown of the airport and the anthrax scare were a one-
two punch right at the gut of the Nation's capital.
  Mr. Speaker, I am not asking for funds for the Nation's capital. I am 
asking for Members' constituents to visit the capital of the United 
States.
  I spoke to a student group on the Mall last Saturday, and I am 
speaking to a group of teachers and principals this Saturday from 
around the country. No student should graduate from high school without 
coming to the Nation's capital, and yet there have been cancellation 
after cancellation of student tours.

                              {time}  1600

  The capital needs your help. In the D.C. Subcommittee we learned that 
double-digit unemployment may be predicted here, 10,000 small 
businesses hanging on, half of our hotel and restaurant workers out of 
work. This is heartbreaking because the Nation's capital was doing so 
well coming out of a control board period. But now we are on the front 
line of the homeland war.
  Of course, we need a targeted stimulus for the Nation's capital like 
New York got, but we are not asking for that this afternoon. We are 
asking you to help us let the free market do it. Bring the tourists 
back. Remind your constituents that your capital is open for business 
and you want to see them in your offices, you want to see them and 
begin to have the same kind of dialogue with them that you had before 
September 11.
  Tell them to visit, not to cancel. Tell them there are bargains here 
now, bargains there will not be here a year from now. Of course, tours 
are not available in the Capitol and I very much regret that. But we 
are coming up to the point where tours once again will be available. In 
any case, they can come and sit in the gallery, they can come to your 
office and they can come and walk around the Capitol on their own.
  This is not the time for Americans to turn their back on their own 
capital. A war in our homeland is the time precisely to come to the 
capital. As a little girl growing up during World War II, this capital 
was crowded with people from all over the United States, people in the 
service, civilians. It was a bustle of activity. It needs to be a 
bustle of activity today not only because the capital needs the capital 
that people would bring in the form of funds, but it needs the bustle 
of activity in order to help the country return to normalcy.
  Members going home to their constituents can lead the way. If they 
hear from you, the leader in your district, that it is safe to come to 
Washington, you can help wipe away fear of anthrax, and especially fear 
of flying now that we have passed the airline security bill so proudly 
here this afternoon. When you come back, bring some of your 
constituents with you to the Nation's capital.
  Happy Thanksgiving.

                          ____________________