[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   EXPRESSING SENSE OF SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REGARDING 
            TERRORIST ATTACKS LAUNCHED AGAINST UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NICK LAMPSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 11, 2001

  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to express 
for the people of Southeast Texas and for myself our sympathy for those 
who have lost loved ones in the horrible tragedy our country suffered 
yesterday.
  I have received many messages of well wishes and sympathy from 
constituents and friends literally around the world. A member of the 
French parliament, for example, asked me to please transmit his 
profound sympathies to the U.S. Congress and the American people.
  We thank you all for your prayers and support. The United States of 
America is strong, and will not be shaken by such a cowardly act which 
killed so many of our countrymen.
  But, Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about a slightly different message 
than my colleagues have spoken of so far, a message about children. As 
adults, we have the ability to process this tragedy much differently 
than how our children process this. We must be sensitive to our 
children's needs, and give them an opportunity to discuss their 
feelings. I'd like to take a moment to paraphrase a column by Cordelia 
Anderson that I received this morning:
  As adults, we need to be calm and focused for the children. We need 
to receive support from other adults, so that we are able to 
effectively guide our children. We must talk with our kids and listen 
to them, find out what their fears are, what their concerns are, and 
then try to address them as directly and as calmly as possible. We must 
try to reassure them that there are adults there to help them and to 
protect them, and after giving them time to talk and to share, to 
return them to their regular routine of school. Our children are worth 
the time that we take to do this, and it is indeed important.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the police, the firefighters, the 
emergency personnel and the magnificent citizens who sacrificed their 
lives or who are still helping in this disaster. My heart and the 
hearts of my constituents go out to the people of New York and of 
Washington, DC. I urge my fellow citizens to support our President as 
we take swift and decisive action against the persons who perpetrated 
this tremendously horrendous act of cowardice.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution, and I 
ask that God bless America.

                          ____________________