On the recordSeptember 11, 2019
Mr. President, September 11 is a solemn anniversary. Eighteen years later, we still remember the toll from that terrible day. Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives in the attacks on the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93, but every American experienced the pain of loss that day. Just as we mourn the innocent lives lost, we also remember the heroism of our first responders who ran toward danger and death to help their fellow Americans. Out of the ashes of that terrible tragedy arose a strength and unity that the whole world came to admire. September 11 altered the course of our Nation's history in a blaze of fire and smoke, and for so many Americans, it altered the course of our lives. Our fighting men and women deployed overseas just weeks later and remain in the fight today. So many Americans joined them, enlisting to defend our Nation. Young kids who witnessed firefighters rushing into the burning towers grew up and themselves joined units with old- fashioned names like ``engine'' and ``ladder.'' A generation of intelligence officers dedicated themselves to preventing another 9/11, and they have and still do. Our lives continue to be altered because the consequences of September 11 are still with us. The attacks of 18 years ago continue to claim new victims, as first responders and others succumb to injuries and illnesses that trace back to that morning.…





