[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5429-S5431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Remembering September 11th

  Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, 18 years ago, on a bright, clear-skied, 
September morning, without warning, our Nation was attacked. Many of us 
probably remember where we were on that horrible day.
  I had that morning off. I was at home with my nearly 2-year-old 
daughter. We didn't have the TV on. We had a couple of gentlemen at the 
house. I was getting a brandnew furnace on that day. What would 
normally be a couple-of-hours-long installation turned into an all-day 
event as those men would take time off from installing our new furnace 
to run into the other room so we could see what was going on on the 
television.
  I had two phone calls that morning. The first was early. It was from 
a neighbor.
  She said: Joni, do you have the TV on?
  I said: Well, no, Wanda. I don't. What's going on?
  She said: Joni, you just need to turn the TV on.
  So I did, and I saw the horrible events unfolding right in front of 
us.
  The second phone call I got was from my Iowa Army National Guard 
unit: Captain Ernst, we are doing a 100-percent accountability check. 
We need you to stay by the phone all day so we know how we can get 
ahold of you--100 percent accountability.
  It was an experience many of us had never felt before--the terrifying 
shock of knowing that the country we love and our fellow Americans were 
under attack.
  Our adversaries sought to tear us apart by their cowardly acts, but, 
instead, they brought us together as Americans, for in those terrible 
moments, we also saw the very, very best of our country--the 
firefighters, the police officers, the first responders, and the 
ordinary citizens who courageously put their lives on the line to save 
countless others.
  On that day, as individuals and as a Nation, we came together in a 
unique way, and we also made a pledge to never forget--to never forget 
the nearly 3,000 victims and the families they left behind, to never 
forget the heroism of both our first responders and those everyday men 
and women who selflessly acted to save lives, and to never forget the 
importance of defending our homeland and the great democratic 
principles that we stand for.
  It is a pledge I personally take very seriously, and it is why I have 
organized this event for my colleagues to come to the floor today and 
to share their memories and thoughts on today, this eighteenth 
anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
  It is why I work so hard to make sure our Armed Forces have the 
technology, support, and resources they need to defend our Nation from 
threats both here at home and abroad.
  It is why I cosponsored and helped to finally get signed into law a 
permanent reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation 
Fund, keeping our Nation's promise to support the first responders who 
continue to sacrifice their health and even their lives from their work 
in the post-9/11 recovery efforts.
  And it is why we should never ever take our Nation and our freedoms 
for granted.
  I am one--just one--of the millions of Americans keeping that promise 
to never forget. In fact, today, back home in Iowa, there are countless 
folks who are honoring that vow in their own thoughtful way.
  Many use today's anniversary as a day of service, performing acts of 
kindness throughout Iowa. Others come together with their communities 
to honor and remember those who were lost.
  It is really wonderful to see all of the ways that folks are doing 
that, from walking in the 9/11 March to the Capitol in Des Moines to 
visiting the 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit, currently at the Clay 
County Fair, to participating in the annual 9/11 Moment of Silence 
Motorcycle Ride in Mason City.
  For some of our fellow Iowans, today will be spent remembering loved 
ones lost in the attack--folks like Newton's Jean Cleere's husband, 
Jim, a loving, good-natured, good-humored, and God-fearing giant of a 
man, who never came home from a fateful business trip to the World 
Trade Center 18 years ago.
  For nearly two decades now, Jean has been on a crusade to keep Jim's 
memory alive and well. She helped to raise funds for Newton's very own 
9/11 memorial. She speaks to local students, educating them about the 
events of that day 18 years ago, and she has given her testimony all 
over Iowa. For folks in Iowa, they have probably seen her driving 
across the State. She has a pretty special license plate, which reads 
``NVR4GT''--never forget.
  Today and every day, Iowans are keeping that sacred promise. We will 
always remember Jim Cleere and the nearly 3,000 others who lost their 
lives that tragic day. We will always honor the heroes who selflessly 
sacrificed and saved countless lives. We will always

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rise up to defend our Nation and its citizens. We will never forget. 
That is our sacred promise.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, 18 years ago today, Americans witnessed 
what evil looks like. Eighteen years ago today, Americans witnessed the 
loss of innocent life. Eighteen years ago today, Americans witnessed 
acts of cowardice.
  Today, Montanans and Americans across our country are taking time to 
reflect upon the horrific acts of 9/11. Today, we take time to remember 
the thousands of lives lost on that horrible day. We remember the 
daughters who lost mothers, the sons who lost fathers, and the loved 
ones and friends and the communities that were broken by these 
tragedies.
  I know I speak for most of us when I say that we remember that day 
like it was yesterday. That fateful morning, I was in Bozeman, MT. I 
typically like to get an earlier start at work. We are 2 hours behind 
eastern time. So it was early in the morning.
  My wife Cindy called me. I was at my desk. I was working for a cloud-
computing software company, just starting the day, and Cindy called me. 
She said: There is really strange news. There has been a plane that hit 
one of the World Trade Center towers.
  I think many of us at that time thought it was maybe a small, private 
plane--sort of, kind of a strange bit of news coming out that morning. 
Then, as the minutes went by, we started finding out what was really 
going on, that it wasn't a small plane. It wasn't an accident. It was a 
767 loaded with fuel because it was attempting to make a journey across 
our country from Boston out to the west coast.
  The images of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers is one I will 
never forget, and it is one that will never stop hurting. I remember 
that after it was confirmed that it was a commercial aircraft, very 
quickly the speculation began that this was a premeditated terror 
attack. In moments like that you want to be with your loved ones. I 
quietly closed the door to my office, and I drove home to be with my 
wife and to be with family as we watched the rest of the horrible day 
unfold: 2,977 innocent Americans lost their lives, and 2,977 innocent 
Americans didn't return home that day.
  I think it is important to think about every single human life that 
was lost and the pain of the families who remember that day today when 
they lost their loved ones. That pain is very real yet again today.
  This was a slaughter of our fellow Americans that shook our Nation to 
its very core. Yet, in the face of extreme adversity, we are a nation 
that did come together and we carried on. I think about those moments 
when our churches and cathedrals were filled with Americans in prayer, 
reflecting upon what had happened.
  Today, we honor and remember the almost 3,000 people who died that 
September morning. We remember the survivors, those first responders, 
the firefighters, and the friends and families of those we lost. While 
we take the time to remember today, we also reflect on who we are as a 
nation. As Americans, we are strong and resilient. After the 9/11 
attacks, we responded with strength and we strengthened the homeland.
  We are most grateful to those who served and to those who are serving 
today in our Armed Forces. Just recently, last December, I flew to 
Afghanistan. In fact, we carried 50 pounds of Montana beef jerky to 
deliver to the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of the 
Montana Army National Guard, who are deployed over in Afghanistan 
protecting us. As I received the briefs that day, I was reminded yet 
again that this war that we have against terrorism exists this very 
moment, and I can tell you this because of the men and women who serve 
in our Armed Forces, in intelligence, and in law enforcement across our 
Nation. It is because of them that we are able to stand here today 
without another terror attack like we saw on 9/11.
  When I received the brief in Afghanistan in December, I was reminded 
again of the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and that 
there are plots being created and attempts to hit the homeland again. 
There are many brave men and women there, many Special Forces.
  I spent time with the four-star there, Scott Miller, who has had a 
career in Special Forces. He is overseeing the operations there. I am 
grateful that they continue to remain vigilant in this fight against 
global terrorism.
  America's enemies want us to be afraid, but the thing is, here in 
America, we don't give up. When America is strong, so are our allies 
and so is the free world. We must remain vigilant to ensure that we 
maintain that Reagan doctrine of peace through strength.
  The world will never forget what happened on this day 18 years ago, 
and despite the political differences and divisions that we have across 
our country and this city, we must always remember that we are all in 
this together, and Americans are strong when we are united.
  There is no force of evil or terror that will ever overcome the will 
and the determination of a free and united people.
  We ask that God continue to bless our fighting men and women, and may 
God continue to bless the United States of America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, September 11 is a solemn anniversary. 
Eighteen years later, we still remember the toll from that terrible 
day. Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives in the attacks on the Twin 
Towers, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93, but every American 
experienced the pain of loss that day.
  Just as we mourn the innocent lives lost, we also remember the 
heroism of our first responders who ran toward danger and death to help 
their fellow Americans.
  Out of the ashes of that terrible tragedy arose a strength and unity 
that the whole world came to admire. September 11 altered the course of 
our Nation's history in a blaze of fire and smoke, and for so many 
Americans, it altered the course of our lives.
  Our fighting men and women deployed overseas just weeks later and 
remain in the fight today. So many Americans joined them, enlisting to 
defend our Nation. Young kids who witnessed firefighters rushing into 
the burning towers grew up and themselves joined units with old-
fashioned names like ``engine'' and ``ladder.'' A generation of 
intelligence officers dedicated themselves to preventing another 9/11, 
and they have and still do.

  Our lives continue to be altered because the consequences of 
September 11 are still with us. The attacks of 18 years ago continue to 
claim new victims, as first responders and others succumb to injuries 
and illnesses that trace back to that morning.
  The al-Qaida terrorists who attacked us are bloodied, yet undefeated, 
while the Taliban terrorists who gave safe haven threaten to regain 
control in Afghanistan.
  Most tragic of all, our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines 
continue to fall in the line of duty and defense of our country.
  Just last week, Army SFC Elis A. Barreto Ortiz was killed on the 
battlefield in Afghanistan. September 11 is his story, too--the story 
of valor and sacrifice.
  So the story of September 11 continues to unfold many years after the 
fact. May its memory strengthen our resolve to continue fighting the 
enemies of freedom, and may we never ever forget.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, 18 years ago today, in my office in 
Oklahoma City, a fellow staff member poked her head into the office and 
said to me: There is a freak accident that has happened in New York. A 
plane flew into the World Trade Center.
  She went down the hallway and pulled in a rolling cart--the younger 
generation will have no idea what that is--but a rolling cart with a TV 
on top of it, and we plugged it in and watched it. As the second plane 
flew in, both of us stood there silently, thinking: That is no 
accident. That is murder on a massive scale and terror like I have 
never witnessed with my own eyes.
  What I didn't know at that moment is how many thousands of lives 
would be affected and how much our Nation would be changed. That 
morning, 18 years ago, seven Oklahomans died, but

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our Nation was forever changed. Common terms we think about today like 
``TSA,'' or ``terror watch list,'' or ``Department of Homeland 
Security,'' or ``Global Entry,'' or ``body scanners,'' or ``PATRIOT 
Act''--those didn't exist on September 10, 2001. They have all come 
since then as our Nation learns how to do more security, learns how to 
engage, and has learned a painful lesson that what people think in an 
isolated village in a remote country--what they think matters to us 
because what they may carry out, if left alone and ignored, could kill 
our family members and our fellow Americans.
  Almost 3,000 Americans died that day, but since that time period, we 
have pushed back not against the people of Afghanistan or the people of 
Iraq, not against Muslims or a faith but against a specific ideology 
that intensely hates the freedom of America and who intentionally plans 
to kill Americans they have never met.
  We learned a new ideology as a nation that day; that we have to not 
only take it seriously but that we must not wait until they carry out a 
fight. If they are planning it, if they are preparing it, if they have 
the capability, we should assume they are actually going to do it.
  Since that time period, American men and women have taken the fight 
to people who want to come and kill more Americans, but it has also 
been at a great cost of American blood and treasure: 4,432 Americans 
have died in Iraq; 2,353 Americans have died in Afghanistan. Fifty-one 
of those are my fellow Oklahomans in Afghanistan; 72 of those are my 
fellow Oklahomans in Iraq.
  Today, I pulled out of my closet a specific tie that I rarely wear. 
It was a tie given to me by a Gold Star Wife who never ever wanted to 
be a Gold Star Wife. She just wanted to be the wife of Chris Horton, 
whom she intensely loved, who went to Afghanistan to serve his country 
in the Oklahoma National Guard and died for our freedom. Two years 
later, she handed me this tie and said: He hated wearing ties, but you 
have to wear them all the time. Just remember him.
  We, as Americans, will not forget, and we have not forgotten. There 
are flags out all over America today just to remember. There are moms 
and dads who really hugged their kids tight this morning before they 
left for school, and the kids didn't even know why. They just did. 
There are places where people are gathering to pray for peace because 
as a nation we are a nation of peace, and we have no desire for war. In 
fact, we detest the pain and penalty and blood and loss of war, and we 
have no desire to be at war across the world, but it came to us, and we 
look forward to the day when guns are silent again and this finally 
concludes and a time of peace can be restored again.
  Today, though, we are just a nation remembering and praying for that 
time of peace that will come, and we are telling Gold Star families and 
families who have sent their loved ones around the world to places they 
had never seen before: We have not forgotten, and we are grateful that 
we serve together as a nation.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, let me say at the outset, I join with the 
sentiments expressed by the Senator from Oklahoma and our colleagues on 
the floor, starting with a moment of silence until this last speech, in 
remembering the historic American significance of September 11.
  The fact that both political parties came together shows there is 
hope that when it comes to this Nation and its values, what brings us 
together is a powerful force. Today it is the force of memory, the 
force of promise, and the force of the future of this country. I want 
to salute my colleagues, particularly my friend from Oklahoma for his 
moving statement about families in his State touched by this tragedy.