Adam Schiff: “It used to be an axiom of American politics that partisanship ended at the water's edge. We have no greater…”

“It used to be an axiom of American politics that partisanship ended at the water's edge. We have no greater responsibility to our constituents than the security of this Nation. On September 11, 2001, Republicans and Democrats died together in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Today tens of thousands of American troops, Democrats and Republicans alike, are battling insurgents and chasing al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Our police, firefighters and air marshals, Democrats and Republicans alike, are working every day to keep Americans safe. In return, our troops, our first responders, and the American public expect us to organize the government so that we are better able to perform the mission of the defense of this country. In late July, the 9/11 Commission produced its report and laid out a series of recommendations that they believe would best ensure the security of the country. I said then and I say again today that the 9/11 Commission's recommendations should be the basis for any actions taken by this Congress in reorganizing and best configuring this government's response to the threat of terrorism.”