James Oberstar: “all of us in this body together with our constituents are attempting to comprehend and give voice to yesterday's…”

“all of us in this body together with our constituents are attempting to comprehend and give voice to yesterday's cowardly, merciless, and vicious act of terrorism against America and against humanity. Both anger and prayer welled up in all of us, as the Duluth News Tribune headline put so succinctly. Pastor Randy Williamson opened the doors of First Assembly of God Church in Hibbing to a steady stream of his congregation. Most of them, he said, feel it is a wake-up call for our country. It reminds us that life is fragile and that we are not invincible. I think they are praying that God would have mercy on us as a country and that our leaders have wisdom and courage and that they would think through the situation and not just act on impulse. Mr. Speaker, beyond the anger and the prayer lie some deeper thoughts about aviation security. On December 21, 1988, the world of aviation security was changed forever as a terrorist bomb tore apart Pan-Am Flight 103 killing all 259 passengers and crew and 11 residents of the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland. That terrorist act propelled the families of those victims on a tireless mission, to prevent such future tragedies culminating in the creation of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism, which I authored and on which I served. History, astonishingly, repeated itself with yesterday's tragic events. Once again, aviation security was changed forever.”