“It’s hard to believe that three years have passed since September 11, 2001 when I returned home from a painful and shocking day to be with my wife and sons. My five-year-old son, Robert, asked only one question: ‘Why did those mean people fly a plane through a building?’

“My son is now eight. Yet there is so much work left to do in order to ensure my son never has to ask me that question again.

“In July, the 9/11 Commission issued its final report and recommendations on how to make this country safer.  I attended House Armed Services Committee hearings on the report during the August recess.

“I came away from those hearings with a hard truth: There is only one risk greater to this nation than the threat of terrorism. That is the threat of combating terrorism the way we did before 9/11.

“The 9/11 Commission’s report and recommendations create an opportunity for us to make our country safer. Congress must quickly move forward in changing how this country fights terrorism.