[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 124 (Thursday, September 26, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1670-E1671]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OF CONGRESS SEPTEMBER 6, 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 25, 2002

  Mr. KING. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride as an American and as a 
New Yorker that I commend my colleagues for taking part in this Special 
Joint Meeting of Congress in historic Federal Hall.
  By meeting in this venerable hall in lower Manhattan—just 
blocks from where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were 
destroyed less than one year ago—the United States Senate and 
House of Representatives have demonstrated our governments lasting 
commitment to the people of New York. And by fighting back and emerging 
stronger than

[[Page E1671]]

ever, New Yorkers have demonstrated their grit, their courage and their 
determination. On September 11, 2001 New York took our enemy's best 
shot and never waved or faltered. The police officers, fire fighters 
and all the rescue workers who raced into the inferno demonstrated 
unsurpassed courage and set the tone and standard for our nation and 
the world. Just as significantly, the families of the brave men and 
women who were murdered that day just because they went to work in the 
World Trade Center have demonstrated a class and dignity that defy 
comprehension.
  None of us will ever forget where we were or what we were doing when 
we first heard the news of the terrorist attacks of September 
11—the attack on the World Trade Center, the attack on the 
Pentagon and the bringing down of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania by 
uncommonly heroic passengers. Nor will we forget how our nation rallied 
behind President Bush as he commanded the war against international 
terrorism. That war will be waged on many battlefields and in many ways 
for many years to come. But we know that America will prevail. It will 
prevail in large part because of the fighting spirit that rose from the 
flames and smoke which engulfed lower Manhattan. And it is that spirit 
that the United States Congress has honored and acknowledged by holding 
this extraordinary session in Federal Hall. God Bless America.

                          ____________________