[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SALUTE TO JOSE MELENDEZ-PEREZ

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute one of my 
constituents, a man whose diligence in his job as a border agent may 
well have saved the lives of each and every one of us here in Congress.
  Jose Melendez-Perez works at Orlando International Airport, the same 
airport that I fly in and out of every week, and in August of 2001, he 
stopped a man named al-Qahtani from entering the United States. As Mr. 
Melendez-Perez just told the 9/11 panel, al-Qahtani's story about why 
he was coming to America from Saudi Arabia just had too many holes in 
it.
  In spite of bone-chilling stares and intimidating finger pointing, 
Mr. Melendez-Perez refused to back down. The FBI and the CIA now 
believe that al-Qahtani was supposed to be the 20th hijacker during the 
attacks of 9/11. He should have been on that plane headed towards 
Washington that crashed in a Pennsylvania field. But thanks to Jose 
Melendez-Perez of Orlando, he was not.
  Every time he has been asked about his role in stopping the 20th 
hijacker, Mr. Melendez-Perez always says, ``I was just doing my job.'' 
Well, Mr. Melendez-Perez, I say to you, ``Job well done.''

                          ____________________