Deborah Koff Ross: “Tuesday, September 11, 2001, is a day that none of us in this Chamber--none of us in this country--will forget. It is a…”

“Tuesday, September 11, 2001, is a day that none of us in this Chamber--none of us in this country--will forget. It is a day when our nation experienced an attack unlike we have ever seen. Thousands of lives in our nation were lost and many, many more were forever changed because of the despicable and deliberate acts of terrorists. As we observe this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for this terrible tragedy, our hearts are with all the victims and their families, and our thoughts and prayers are with those working so hard to remove the rubble and hopefully find additional survivors. We can no longer think of these terrorist attacks as something that we see on television that happen only in far away lands. The threat to our national security is evident, and our response to the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is critical. It must be strong, it must be carefully calculated, and it must be swift. The time has come for the United States to make a full force effort to eliminate the terrorist networks across the globe, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution authorizing the President to use such necessary and appropriate force against those responsible for the terrorist attacks on September 11 and anyone or any country who assisted them. This is no easy task, but our troops are ready, and our government stands united, Democrats and Republicans alike, in our resolve to end terrorism in the United States.”