Cord Byrd: “Tomorrow the Nation will bow our heads in prayer as we remember those who perished 2 years ago. As we close our eyes to…”

“Tomorrow the Nation will bow our heads in prayer as we remember those who perished 2 years ago. As we close our eyes to remember those who perished in the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon and in the quiet field in Pennsylvania, we cannot help but recall the graphic images of the attacks that shocked the American psyche, the smoke, the fire, the pain, the falling towers. The courage displayed on television sets on September 11, 2001, brought all Americans to the scene of those attacks. Our Nation united to fight those who were responsible for those terrible acts. Since then, our Armed Forces swept through the rugged terrain of Afghanistan, deposing a government that directly aided Osama bin Laden in his mission to attack America by any means at hand. In the days following the attacks, Congress acted swiftly to provide essential funds for this military response. The appropriations committees in both Houses acted without delay. But today our fight against terrorism has lost a good deal of its focus. Our homeland security efforts are underfunded. The Department of Homeland Security is a bureaucratic catastrophe. The White House has prioritized tax cuts over protecting our airliners and securing our ports. Through carefully worded rhetoric, the administration has morphed the image of America's most wanted man from Osama bin Laden to Saddam Hussein.”