[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16961-16963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



              TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. CHAFEE. Madam President, I stand before my fellow Senators in 
full support of the resolution on which we voted yesterday. A stunned 
world and Nation is struggling to come to grips with the horrifying 
violence of September 11, 2001. I support the President's efforts to 
marshal the resources of our intelligence, law enforcement, diplomatic, 
and military apparatus to bring about justice and to do so as swiftly 
as possible.
  I call on any nation known to be harboring terrorists to fully 
cooperate with the United States and stem the rising tide of conflict. 
I believe people around the world are in equal measure demanding 
justice for these horrendous crimes and anxious for the world to settle 
its disputes in a rational and civilized manner.
  We must cling to the hope that this is possible, even while we 
recognize that on this Earth there exists people capable of 
unbelievable barbarism. This is a time of overwhelming sadness, and I 
join my colleagues in support of S.J. Res. 22.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BURNS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BURNS. Madam President, I assume we are still in morning business 
and offering statements with regard to the incidents of Tuesday.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. BURNS. Madam President, ironically, on September 11 of this year, 
I was involved in a press conference looking at a report card to 
Congress on the deployment of E-911, the national emergency number. 
Last year, we passed that bill and the President signed it, with now 
the deployment of enhanced 911, which tells wireless phone operators 
that when you dial 911 on your wireless phone, you will get the nearest 
first responder rather than some other area, maybe your home area, even 
though you may be in roam, and I do not spell that R-o-m-e.
  How ironic that started at 9 o'clock in the morning. It is one of 
those pieces of legislation that goes unnoticed. Yet it has a lot to do 
with public safety, especially in rural areas where we rely on 
wireless. It also nationalizes 911 as the emergency number across the 
Nation.
  I made the statement at that time that we are dealing with a 
different world. Not only do we have to deal with our own little family 
emergencies, we also have to deal with this world of terrorism. So 911 
and the ability to communicate becomes very important. As we walked out 
of that press conference, we were notified that an airplane had hit the 
World Trade Center in New York.
  Not only did I stand still but the world has stood still. We were 
shocked; we were outraged at an unprovoked act of violence committed 
against thousands and thousands of innocent Americans.
  Immediately, our President and Commander in Chief, George Bush, 
ordered the Federal Government to assist the victims of the violence, 
investigate these acts of terror, and to take the steps to bring those 
responsible for these tragedies to justice.
  I fully support the President's actions and will do whatever I can as 
an individual to help him and our country in this time of need.
  Terrorism, which has been condemned around the world, cannot and will 
not be tolerated in this country. I know the President will take all 
measures necessary to seek out and to punish those who viciously 
attacked innocent and defenseless Americans.
  We, as Americans, are a strong and resilient people. We will heal, 
and we will emerge stronger than ever. The strength and spirit of our 
Republic and the democracy it represents will shine through. We will 
not simply endure; we shall prevail. And we will send a sharp message 
to those cowards saying that terrorist acts will not be tolerated or 
condoned. They will never be able to destroy the spirit of a free 
people, the freedom we enjoy, and our way of life.
  Our thoughts and our prayers go out to those who tragically lost 
their lives and to those friends and families who lost their loved 
ones. This is far more than a tragedy to them. It is an outrageous act 
of terrorism that killed and injured so many innocent and decent 
citizens of our country. Nothing I can say to express my sympathy for 
those suffering is enough. My outrage of that cowardly act remains 
unwavering.
  For now, we must mourn those who have passed on and care for those 
who were injured. We must let the President, our law enforcement 
people, military, and the intelligence community work. As a law-abiding 
nation--and we are a nation of laws--we must be sure to place the blame 
on the guilty. Taking independent action against innocents or guests of 
our country has to be guarded against.
  The anger I feel inside has to be tempered because decisions made 
while in this state are usually not good decisions. Many are filled 
with that same anger and an unyielding desire for revenge. I realize we 
must remain calm and focused. In the heat of passion, fired by 
outrageous, despicable acts of those who are guilty, our leaders must 
be calm and dispassionate in determining who is responsible, where they 
are, and how we must deal with them.
  Have no doubt, America, we will find those responsible. I say to 
those who are responsible: You cannot hide. You can run, but you cannot 
hide. Justice will be served. It will be swift, and it will be harsh.
  September 11,--9-11--2001, will live a long time in the memory of 
many of us.
  I was almost 7 years old on that Sunday, December 7, 1941. I remember 
that day, and I can remember being a small lad growing up on a farm. My 
folks talked to each other differently and so did the neighbors on 
Monday morning, the 8th, than any of us had ever heard before. I can 
remember when my mother yelled out of the house, because we had an old 
battery radio and didn't have electricity in those days--Dad and I were 
in the barn choring. Mother said that the Japanese had bombed Pearl 
Harbor. My dad looked down at me and he said: ``Where is Pearl 
Harbor?'' We didn't even know. Next, the pictures came out of Pearl 
Harbor of the bellowing smoke from the Arizona and of the California 
lying half on its side. It remained in our minds for a long time.
  I fear that the pictures of the World Trade Center and the damage 
done there will live in the minds of young folks as Pearl Harbor did 
with us. Tuesday's acts represented a well-planned, well-financed 
attack on our freedom by a faceless, gutless enemy.
  I also want to warn the American people that we are at war. It can be 
called by no other name. So I stand firmly and proudly behind my 
Commander in Chief, the President of the United States. There is no 
doubt about our unity and resolve to track down, root out, and 
relentlessly pursue terrorists and the states that harbor them. I stand 
by to support our military and intelligence community and

[[Page 16962]]

will fight for all the resources they need to ensure our national 
security. Let us not forget this as we consider our funding bills.
  What is important and what is not important? We must sift through and 
search our souls. This is a great nation with a strong and brave 
history. Americans have come together and triumphed in difficult times 
such as these. We will do it again, and we will punish those 
responsible. America remains resolved in its efforts to find those who 
so cowardly committed these horrific acts.
  One always looks for words, but sometimes words escape us. That is 
kind of bad when words escape an auctioneer. But to quote a few words 
from the ``Battle Hymn of the Republic,'' those responsible will soon 
understand the true meaning of this line:

       He hath loosed the faithful lightning of his terrible swift 
     sword.

  I will tell you, America will do that, indeed, and America will march 
on.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that 
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Florida, Mr. Nelson.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Madam President, I come to the Chamber with a 
very heavy heart because of the tragedy so many people have 
experienced. It has touched all of our lives in one way or another. So, 
too, I have had a personal experience just in the last few minutes of 
how the tragedy has touched the life of my wife and me, for one of the 
passengers on the airliner that crashed into the World Trade Center was 
a personal friend of our family, Sonia Puopolo of Boston and Miami.
  I come to the Chamber to share this experience because the grief that 
so many across this Nation have felt is shared by all of us--of talking 
to Sonia's husband Dominic and to her daughter Tita, who are so full of 
life and so upbeat and effervescent, talking to them in this condition 
where they still have the presence of mind in the midst of their 
unbelievable grief to be able to remember the good times, and Dominic 
telling me about the 40-some years he had the privilege of knowing his 
wife and the 37 years of marriage, where he met her in Puerto Rico and 
where it was planned he was going to be on the same flight and how she 
had insisted, no, she was going to Los Angeles so that she could be 
with their son by herself and enjoy her son since Dominic had already 
been in Los Angeles with their son.
  This is the part of tragedy that puts a human face on the tragedy, 
but for Florida and Floridians it does not end there. A few minutes 
thereafter, I spoke by telephone with a courageous Fort Myers 
policeman, Officer Lyles, who has now gathered with his family in 
another part of Florida because it was his wife, Cee Cee Lyles, on the 
airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania, which we now know was headed for 
Washington and another target, perhaps this building; that she was able 
to get through to her husband by cell phone and he could hear the 
screams in the background. She told him they had been hijacked, and she 
told him she loved him and loved their children.
  This is a part of the grieving process that is necessary for us to 
all go through, but it is also a poignant story of two lives that are 
touching the State of Florida that gives us even more resolve of why we 
are going to find the perpetrators, we are going to hunt them down, and 
they are going to be brought to justice.
  I have seen America in this situation--and in my lifetime I have seen 
it several times--but the one I remember so vividly is the time of 
national tragedy when the symbol of our technological prowess, the 
space shuttle Challenger, in January of 1986, exploded in front of our 
eyes. I recall that event because there was something from the 
experience of that tragedy for the American people that was instructive 
to the rest of the world. That is, that Americans overcome. Americans 
persevere. When we are knocked down, we are not knocked out; we get up 
and we respond.
  That has happened over and over in our history. It is part of our 
character as an American people that we overcome. We saw it in the 
Revolutionary War. We have seen it in every war since. We saw it in the 
national tragedy of the Challenger explosion, and we are seeing it 
again in the national tragedy of this terrorist attack.
  In the process of overcoming and persevering, we make right that 
which is wrong. And so, too, the American people are unified in our 
commitment that we will find the perpetrators and they will be dealt 
with.
  This is not a time for revenge. We are a forgiving people. That is 
part of our nature. That is part of our Scriptural background. But we 
are also a proud people who will not let the national reputation be 
sullied; we will protect it.
  I come to the Senate today out of my personal grief, having just had 
one telephone conversation with a family who is convulsed in grief, and 
about to have another telephone conversation with another Florida 
family who is suffering likewise, to say that I don't understand the 
plan that good people are taken, but I do understand the ultimate plan 
that we are a nation blessed by God over and over and that God is 
protecting us. America will not only survive, America will do as she 
has so often done: America and Americans will overcome.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, our national will is being tested as it 
never has before. On the clear, sunny morning of September 11, we were 
attacked from out of the shadows. There are no words to fully describe 
the depth of this infamy. And not enough tears to properly mourn the 
innocent lives so cruelly taken.
  Thousands of families are grieving today over loved ones lost in this 
senseless attack on our nation and all of us mourn with them and keep 
them in our prayers.
  But from within the depths of this horror, we saw and honor the 
heroism of our police and firefighters, many of whom gave their lives 
trying to rescue others. We thank them and offer our condolences to 
those who lost a loved one in the line of duty. We also offer our 
thanks to all the medical workers who are working tirelessly trying to 
save lives.
  While our enemy is still uncertain, our resolve must be unflinching. 
Those who thought they could bring us to our knees must instead see us 
standing tall, united, and resolved to see that justice is done.
  We stand firmly behind President Bush and his diplomatic and military 
efforts to discover who is behind these attacks and hold them 
accountable. The United States will respond decisively and forcefully 
against those who have perpetrated this atrocity and those who offer 
them safe harbor and assistance.
  I am also outraged by reports of price gouging at gasoline stations 
around the Nation. Those who would profit in our time of grief are not 
only contemptible; in Michigan they are also criminals. The Michigan 
Attorney General has asked me to direct complaints to their regional 
offices.
  Our Nation will come through this crisis even stronger than before. 
Those who attack from the shadows will see that we do not surrender to 
fear, but rather will go forward united in steely purpose and iron 
resolve. Even as we mourn, it is important that we carry on with the 
nation's business, with the immediate priority being to get help to the 
families and communities that were the victims of this horrendous 
attack.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, the tragedy that has befallen America is 
only just beginning to fully sink in. The horror is so unimaginable, 
the devastation so great and the suffering it leaves in its wake is 
almost beyond our comprehension. We feel we have all, personally, been 
dealt a great blow, no matter where we live, whether or not we knew any 
of the victims. Our hearts go out to the many, many families who are 
suffering, and in a very real sense,

[[Page 16963]]

we feel as if we are one family together today.
  As chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has 
jurisdiction over the Federal Emergency Management Agency--FEMA--I 
pledge the full support of the committee to the relief effort. I would 
like to read the text of a letter that my committee sent to the 
President today:

       Dear Mr. President: We are writing to commend you and the 
     Administration for the Federal Government's response to the 
     horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New 
     York and the Pentagon. In particular, we are encouraged and 
     impressed by the organization and coordination at the Federal 
     Emergency Management Agency.
       We and our staff stand ready to assist you in your efforts 
     in any way, including making any immediate changes to 
     statutes or program funding levels within the Committee's 
     jurisdiction that are necessary to implement measures to save 
     lives and restore safety and order as quickly as possible.
       Thank you for your resolve and determination.
       Sincerely, Members of the Committee of Environment and 
     Public Works.

  Of the thousands of people working in the World Trade Center complex, 
2,600 are Federal employees, working for a variety of Federal agencies. 
The General Services Administration is working diligently to find 
temporary office space so that these employees may get back to work as 
soon as possible.
  America picks up and goes on. We are shaken but we are not bowed. We 
are also comforted by the stories of great heroism that come flooding 
out of this tragedy, the stories of people going back for friends, 
office workers carrying disabled colleagues down 80 flights of stairs, 
firefighters and police rushing up the stricken towers in their frantic 
effort to save lives. Still today, we are watching rescue workers who 
have not slept in 2 days, continuing to dig through the rubble, 
exposing themselves to great hazards, running on adrenaline from the 
news that three people were just found alive today.
  As more information comes to light, we are seeing a picture emerge of 
another great act of heroism--the crashing of United Airlines Flight 93 
in Pennsylvania. From what we can glean from phone calls from 
passengers on that flight, realizing that the hijackers planned to 
crash their plane and learning that two hijacked planes had just 
crashed into the World Trade Center, passengers decided to take action. 
We can only surmise from their last words to family members that 
several passengers confronted the hijackers and the plane was prevented 
from completing its mission. It is unlikely that we will know for sure 
what target the hijackers had in mind, but we can be fairly certain 
that brave passengers saved the lives of many hundreds or even 
thousands of people, and maybe even our own lives. I believe that all 
of America should be deeply grateful to them and their courage in the 
face of death.
  America has closed ranks behind its President and its people. I am 
also very pleased that so many of our allies have closed ranks behind 
us. Yesterday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization--NATO--for the 
first time in its 52-year history, invoked collective defense 
arrangements under Article 5 of its Charter that states that an attack 
upon one member of the alliance is viewed as an attack upon all. This 
reiteration of NATO solidarity is unprecedented and will be most 
helpful in formulating a unified response. Condolences and offers of 
assistance have poured in from all regions of the world, giving us 
heart as we focus on the task ahead of us.
  Fighting terrorism is an exceedingly difficult task. It will take 
applying ourselves in a way we have never done before. Ferreting out 
terrorists and destroying their networks will be long and arduous work. 
It will require a concerted international effort and potentially great 
patience. We will need the strong cooperation of our allies, and we 
will need to reach out to nations that are not our traditional allies. 
Fighting terrorism is usually a frustrating task, as targets are 
elusive and the means of terror difficult to control. We still hope to 
learn a great deal more about the perpetrators of this tragedy and 
uncover those who helped them. I expect that we will take firm action 
in retaliation. But this may take time, and it must be done in a manner 
that will not unnecessarily provoke reprisals or generate additional 
acts of terrorism. I am confident that American resolve will remain 
firm no matter how long or how difficult this fight.
  In closing, I would like to recognize the contributions to the relief 
effort from my small State of Vermont. The Vermont Air Guard has 
already flown many hours of additional missions as part of the effort 
to maintain security over American airspace. Vermont doctors, nurses, 
firefighters, and rescue workers have volunteered in great numbers to 
help. All over the State, people have lined up to give blood. True to 
their history, Vermonters are quick to offer their help.
  I see this strength replicated all across America. This makes me, and 
all Americans, proud.

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