[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16612-16613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 AMERICANS STAND TALL AGAINST TERRORISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on this September 11, the 1-
year anniversary of the greatest tragedy on American soil in our 
history with a heavy heart, as I know is shared by all Americans, 
because it was on this day 1 year ago when almost 3,000 Americans lost 
their lives at the hands of evil terrorists who sought to destroy our 
Nation, who seek to destroy our way of life.
  We know from that experience that all Americans must stand tall 
against the threat of international terrorism. We know as Americans 
that we never, never, never want to experience that tragedy again. As a 
part of our history, we will always remember September 11 of last year.
  I come to the floor today to call upon the House to pass legislation 
entitled the National Memorial to the Victims of Terrorism Act. This 
legislation would memorialize all victims of terrorism, both those who 
have lost their lives on September 11, as well as those who have been 
victims of terrorism in previous times, as well as those who have died 
in the cause since.
  Since September 11 of last year, we have engaged in a battle in 
Afghanistan where 51 Americans have lost their lives. We know from 
experience that the war against terrorism will not be won quickly and 
that perhaps we may face this challenge for many years ahead.
  In many ways on September 11, the American people recognized for the 
first time that we were in fact engaged in a war against terrorism, 
even though we have had ample opportunity to define those events that 
occurred in previous years, taking the lives of American citizens and 
American soldiers, as a war. We understand that this legislation that 
we have introduced will memorialize those who lost their lives to 
terrorism. The legislation which we have introduced is entitled the 
National Memorial to the Victims of Terrorism. It was introduced by me 
and by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen). It is a bipartisan piece 
of legislation that enjoys the support of Members on both sides of the 
aisle.
  The legislation would create a 13-member Victims of Terrorism 
Memorial Advisory Board appointed by the President in consultation with 
the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Defense. Members of 
the advisory board would include appointees from organizations 
dedicated to assisting the victims of terrorism and their families. The 
board would begin the process of establishing a memorial not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of this legislation. The advisory 
board would have the responsibility of raising the necessary funds from 
private sources to pay for this national memorial.
  Those who came and testified on behalf of this legislation in the 
committee last May spoke very eloquently about the importance of this 
national memorial. We had testimony from Lisa Beamer, the widow of Todd 
Beamer, who joined those brave passengers on Flight 93 and fought off 
the terrorists and saved this Capitol and many people who were in this 
building.
  We had testimony from Colonel Ted Anderson, who saved many victims 
when the Pentagon was struck by the aircraft on that fateful day.
  We had testimony from Joe Finley, a New York firefighter who worked 
hard and dedicated his efforts on that fateful day to saving the lives 
of those who were struck in the World Trade Center.
  We also had testimony from Liz Howell, a staffer on the Committee on 
Resources staff that heard of this bill who lost her husband at the 
Pentagon on September 11.
  Each of these individuals shared heartfelt testimony as to why it is 
important for Americans to mark this event with a national memorial, 
and why it is also important to reflect in this memorial the memory of 
all who have lost their lives to terrorism.

                              {time}  1745

  The war on terrorism is indeed the first war of the 21st century. It 
will not be one marked by any one geographic location. It is a global 
war. It is a global war that will be fought both at home and abroad. 
Though they have lost their lives in places far and near over a span of 
time that includes the past, the present and perhaps the future, the 
victims of terrorism, both civilian and military, deserve solemn 
tribute, for they died at the hands of the enemies of America simply 
because they were Americans.

[[Page 16613]]

  I call upon the leadership of this Congress to promptly set this bill 
for hearing in order that we may act promptly and pass the National 
Memorial to the Victims of Terrorism Act.

                          ____________________