Tom Lantos: “Mr. Speaker, this has been a fine moment for the House of Representatives. We came together, not as Republicans or as…”

“Mr. Speaker, this has been a fine moment for the House of Representatives. We came together, not as Republicans or as Democrats, but as American citizens who are still so painfully aware of that horrible moment a year ago when lives were snuffed out, orphans were made, widows were made, family tragedies were made across this land. And the people who did it so totally and so profoundly misunderstand the nature of an open and free society. They sought to intimidate us. They sought to make us give up the good fight, but they have only succeeded in steeling our will and determination that the terrorists of this globe and the regimes that harbor them will not prevail. This struggle will go on for a long time. Al Qaeda may have been largely defeated in Afghanistan, but they are all over the world in scores of countries planning to perpetrate additional evil deeds. We are ready for them. Not since Pearl Harbor have the American people been as determined, as united, as committed to defending the values of our way of life, our Constitution, our pluralism, our acceptance of all religions, of all ethnic groups, of all forms of commitments to values that we so dearly cherish in this country.”