[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13580-13581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, we return to Capitol Hill, ending the 
summer recess with strong conflicting emotions. Today is the 11th 
anniversary of 9/11, the horrific attacks that rocked the Nation and 
were especially poignant for us on Capitol Hill.
  As representatives of the government we had sworn to uphold and 
defend, these senseless, despicable acts exposed a real vulnerability. 
We all remember what we felt as we were watching the Twin Towers 
collapse, the plane crashing into the Pentagon, and then yet another 
plane going down in a lonely field in Pennsylvania, destined for us 
here on Capitol Hill.
  People came together in an outpouring of support for one another and 
for our Nation. There was a sense of resolve, unparalleled at any time 
since the cowardly attacks on Pearl Harbor.
  The response of the government since then, however, has been somewhat 
mixed. We have protected the United States so far against any repeat 
attack, but at great cost. We have thrown money at the problem. We have 
had significant bureaucratic overreach, particularly in terms of 
personal liberties. We will be paying the costs of the horribly 
misguided war in Iraq for generations to come.

[[Page 13581]]

  After an original, terrific response routing the Taliban in 
Afghanistan, we took our eye off the ball. We allowed Osama bin Laden 
almost another decade of life and mischief. Later, we were sucked back 
into Afghanistan on the terms of the Taliban and al Qaeda, not on our 
terms.
  Now, this is not merely a Republican problem, although George Bush 
and Republicans were in charge and made some of the worst mistakes. 
There was much bipartisan support for the excesses.

                              {time}  1020

  To this day, there is bipartisan confusion about the best path 
forward to protect the Nation while protecting civil liberties and the 
budget for the situation today and not the conditions of September 10, 
2001. My wish for Congress and for the candidates span out on the 
campaign trails, is that we mark this anniversary with a commitment to 
allow a little common sense and good will to enter into the political 
discourse.
  This can be an emotional job. I was thinking about the emotions that 
I expressed, having a chance 15 years ago to go through the hectoring 
and interfering military on Aung San Suu Kyi's compound in Burma, where 
she was held under house arrest by the dictatorship. My son, daughter, 
and I spent an amazing afternoon with this extraordinary woman. I could 
scarcely imagine then, what will happen next week when we will be 
awarding that courageous woman the Congressional Medal of Honor here in 
the Capitol and then she will return to Burma as a member of their 
nation's parliament.
  The success of this woman, together with the steely resolve of the 
American public after 9/11, ought to give us all pause and, hopefully, 
a renewed commitment to do our job right. Since 9/11, the challenges 
and circumstances have evolved. We have greater challenges in terms of 
security, climate instability, natural disaster, and our own economic 
vulnerability. It's a tall order to deal with them; but, hopefully, we 
will all be inspired by the example of Aung San Suu Kyi standing up to 
the Burmese dictatorship and ultimately gaining a measure of success--
and, of course, by the American public in their response to horrific 
attacks of 9/11.
  It's time today, for the politicians to do their job: to listen, to 
speak the truth, and to lead.

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