[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 125 (Monday, September 30, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATIVE JOINT MEETING OF CONGRESS, FEDERAL HALL, NEW YORK, NEW 
                                  YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TAMMY BALDWIN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 26, 2002

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, today we gather here in Federal Hall to 
honor and recognized the courage and determination of the survivors of 
the horrible terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It is fitting 
that we do so.
  It was here in Federal Hall that the new Congress of the United 
States first met in 1789 to govern our new Nation. It was here in New 
York that our founding fathers passed the laws that are the foundation 
for our democratic political system. From this solid foundation, our 
Nation has grown and prospered. Our people have excelled in science, in 
the humanities, in art and culture. We have grown to be a great Nation, 
home to a great people, with tremendous hopes and incredible dreams for 
the future. And it all began right here in Federal Hall.
  One year ago, terrorists attacked America. Their targets were not 
simply the buildings they destroyed and the people they murdered. They 
were attacking the very ideals that define what it means to be an 
American. They wanted to drive us apart and make us afraid.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that they failed.
  Faced with tragedy and destruction, the people of the United States, 
and particularly the people of New York, came together as one 
community. We gathered the emotional resources to survive and heal, and 
we pulled together the financial resources to rebuild. This has not 
been easy. It takes incredible courage to move forward after a tragedy 
like 9-11. But we did find that courage within ourselves.
  That is why it is so fitting that we are here in New York today. One 
year after September 11, we are rededicating our Nation. The terrorists 
have not won. They have lost. Our Nation is stronger and more united. 
Our freedom, our courage, our determination, our unity, our diversity, 
our charity and our democracy are our strengths. New York has exhibited 
all of these strengths in abundance in the last year. And they are 
everywhere in America.

                          ____________________