[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14083]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                     REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, in a solemn ceremony today, a new visitor 
center and museum was opened at the site near Shanksville, PA, where 40 
courageous Americans were killed 14 years ago tomorrow attempting to 
regain control of United Airlines Flight 93 from four hijackers. The 9/
11 Commission Report makes it clear that the hijackers intended to 
crash Flight 93 either into the White House or the U.S. Capitol 
Building.
  Our individual and collective memories of that horrific day remain 
fresh, and the pain is still very real. But in the minutes, hours, 
days, and years following the attacks, Americans have showed their 
amazing propensity for bravery, sacrifice, selflessness, and compassion 
in an incredible variety of ways.
  Today, American men and women in this country and abroad stand at the 
ready to thwart the plans of those who wish to do us harm. We have an 
obligation to support them and their families during their missions, as 
well as when their missions end. Congress has a special obligation to 
care for those still living with the emotional and medical burdens of 
the attacks. As we begin to craft a new budget for our country, I will 
work to ensure full funding for the programs that support the first 
responders who risked their health in the effort to help others.
  Others have said that the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 
didn't test the American character; they revealed it. The terrorist 
attacks were intended to crush the American spirit; instead, they 
galvanized it to new strengths. We came together as a nation to grieve. 
We came together as a nation to bury our dead and to care for those who 
were hurt. We came together as a nation to rebuild. And we came 
together as a nation to pursue those who were responsible for the 
attacks and bring them to justice. We have accomplished a great deal 
with respect to those missions, but we have so much more to do. We must 
never become complacent. We must never lose our resolve.
  We have a larger mission. President John F. Kennedy was on his way to 
deliver a speech at the Trade Mart in Dallas when he was assassinated 
on November 22, 1963. He was going to say:

       We in this country, in this generation, are--by destiny 
     rather than choice--the watchmen on the walls of world 
     freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our 
     power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength 
     with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our 
     time and for all time the ancient vision of ``peace on earth, 
     good will toward men.'' That must always be our goal, and the 
     righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. 
     For as was written long ago: ``except the Lord keep the city, 
     the watchman waketh but in vain.''

  Being ``watchmen on the walls of world freedom'' is an awesome 
responsibility. There are times when the responsibility seems more of a 
burden than a privilege. There are times when the world's problems seem 
absolutely intractable and we grow weary of it all. There are times 
when we as Americans disagree whether or how we should meet that 
responsibility.
  Today, both houses of Congress are involved in a debate about the 
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action--JCPOA--with respect to Iran, a 
State sponsor of terrorism with nuclear ambitions. We have serious 
disagreements about whether to support the JCPOA. It is important, as 
we debate this issue, to remember that no one among us is clairvoyant 
or has a total grasp of the truth; no ideology or philosophy has a 
monopoly on wisdom. No party has complete political acumen. And no 
group has exclusive rights to use the word ``patriot''.
  If we want to honor the men and women on Flight 93 and on the three 
other hijacked jets, if we want to honor the people in the World Trade 
Center and at the Pentagon, if we want to honor the brave first 
responders who were climbing up the steps of the Twin Towers as people 
were streaming down the steps, and if we want to honor the service men 
and women who have given their lives in defense of our Nation, let us 
remember that what unites us as Americans is far more important than 
what divides us on particular issues, even an issue as existentially 
crucial as restraining Iran's worst intentions and lawlessness. We are 
all Americans, each with the desire to see our families, our 
communities, and our Nation prosper, and to promote the American ideals 
of peace and freedom and justice to every corner of the Earth.
  About 100 miles east of Shanksville, there is another field 
consecrated by the blood of Americans who gave ``the last full measure 
of devotion''--Gettysburg. As President Abraham Lincoln said, it is our 
responsibility to dedicate ourselves ``to the unfinished work'' which 
others ``have thus far so nobly advanced''. It is our responsibility to 
dedicate ourselves to the ``great task'' remaining before us, and that 
task is ``a new birth of freedom''.
  As we remember and mourn those who died in the 9/11 attacks and those 
who have died since that dreadful day 14 years ago serving as 
``watchmen on the walls of world freedom'', let us meet our awesome 
responsibility united, as Americans, all of us patriots in our own way, 
acknowledging that it is our privilege and it is our destiny.

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