[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            9/11 ANNIVERSARY

  (Mr. WILLIAMS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, Sunday will mark 15 years since the 
September 11 attacks. Each year, this anniversary seems to sneak up on 
us faster than it did the year before.
  September 11 forever changed who we are individually and as a 
country. It prompted grief, fear, and anger. The images of the Twin 
Towers collapsing one after the other are just as tragic today as they 
were a decade and a half ago. The scene of smoke rising from the 
Pentagon is seared in our memory. The gaping hole left in an open 
Pennsylvania field is something we will never forget.
  September 11 also brought stories of courage, hope, and leadership. 
It tested the resolve of this great Nation. From the brave passengers 
of Flight 93, who quite possibly saved this very building we are 
standing in today, to the first responders who gave their life to 
ensure the well-being and safety of others.
  We will never forget the President, who confidently stood on the 
rubble of collapsed buildings in New York to comfort an uncertain 
nation. I will always remember the first pitch President Bush threw at 
Yankee Stadium several weeks later.
  As tens of thousands of fans looked on, the ball went right down the 
middle. He threw a perfect strike. It was a symbolic moment. It was 
symbolic of America's ability to not only recover from tragedy but 
reemerge as a greater country than it was before.
  In God we trust.

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