[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THANKING NEW YORK CITY

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I would like to comment on the agenda we are 
going to be dealing with in September. But before I do that, I want to 
say I was very proud of the job that was done by the people of New York 
City, the leadership of New York City, and all who were involved in the 
Republican National Convention in New York.
  I must confess, I dreaded going to New York City for our convention. 
I was worried about the heat at the end of August. I was worried about 
the traffic and congestion. I was worried about the ability to secure 
the place from potential terrorist threats. I was concerned about what 
the protesters might do. I had a lot of concerns.
  I also had some concerns about how the convention itself would be 
perceived. But I must say, I was pleased with the way the city handled 
the convention. It was not as hot as I expected. The traffic was not as 
bad as I expected. The protesters were there, but they stayed within 
reasonable bounds. They were able to express themselves. Some of them 
went too far, and they wound up being arrested. The police in New York 
City did a very effective job. They were friendly. They were helpful. 
The city officials, Mayor Bloomberg, the State officials, Governor 
Pataki and his administration, all who were involved in the security 
and transportation aspects of the convention deserve to be commended 
because it turned out to be very good.
  The convention itself, the events surrounding the convention, the 
experience, exceeded my greatest expectations. There were good speakers 
every night. I won't dare to name them now because if I name one, I 
might not name another who did a wonderful job. I was inspired by it 
all. But not wanting to make this a partisan speech, my real purpose is 
to extend my congratulations to the city of New York. They did a great 
job. I feel as many people said when New York City was attacked on that 
infamous day of 9/11, we all became New Yorkers, and from that we all 
became Americans again. We did a lot of things in a bipartisan, 
nonpartisan way for the future of the people in that city and for the 
security of the American people. That was a good experience which came 
out of that terrible event.
  So I want the record to show I found the whole event most enjoyable 
and a productive product for the political process.

                          ____________________