Floor Speech - September 9, 2004

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11th

Madam Speaker, 

On September 11, 2001, some 3,000 innocent men, women and children were killed in an act of war, including 30 from my home State of Pennsylvania. 

This weekend we will honor the memory and redevote ourselves to defeating the evil that killed them.

We should never forget why they died, for no other reason but that they were Americans, because the agents of evil believe that they can bully us and change our policies by murdering innocent people. And they continue to believe this. We saw it in Russia last week; we saw it in Spain this summer.

Madam Speaker, it is our duty to use every element of national power to defeat them and the conditions under which they thrive. 

Three years after 9/11 we have made progress. I am proud of the way our country has responded. I am proud of our troops. 

I am proud of our Commander in Chief, who has led us in the war on terror with a steady hand. 

Most of all, I am proud of the American people, who have joined together to renew our commitment to what makes America great.

Let us keep praying that the world will be rid of terrorism.