Bill Pascrell: “I wonder what would have happened if Officer Rhatigan was not on the scene to be alerted by the two citizens I mentioned…”

“I wonder what would have happened if Officer Rhatigan was not on the scene to be alerted by the two citizens I mentioned before. This is exactly why we need to fund our first responders based on security needs. We need no other barometer. America's intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, are critical to the task of protecting our citizens and our neighborhoods. But also on duty every day are our first responders--that local responder is the first. On 9/11 they were the first to respond. And a few days ago they were the first to respond after being alerted by two citizens of New York. Keep this in mind every day when we see the EMTs and the firefighters of our local towns and our police officers on duty. They need more than a pat on the back. They need more than our encouragement. They need our votes to make sure that we sustain the resources necessary for them to protect all of America. I know when these things happen, we rise up and then a few days later we might just forget, but we cannot forget.”