Donald M. Payne: “I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Massachusetts for giving me the opportunity to speak on what we all consider…”

“I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Massachusetts for giving me the opportunity to speak on what we all consider a national tragedy, but are trying to do something here that will help us remember those lost on that fateful day. Yesterday morning, like many of my colleagues, I was back in my district to reflect on the tragic events of September 11, 2001. My district borders on New York City. Across the river, I can see the World Trade Center building from my district office. Every single day thousands of my constituents travel to and from New York City for work. The 9/11 attacks were deeply personal for New Jersey's 10th Congressional District, as we lost 57 residents from my home county in which I live in Newark, New Jersey, the County of Essex, and we have erected a beautiful memorial in Essex County at Eagle Rock Reservation, which is a mountaintop where you can see over into New York City, where many people ventured to see what had happened on that fateful day. And so it has become a beautiful memorial there at Eagle Rock Reservation, and it is a pristine, beautiful symbol of never forgetting. The names of all of the people who perished that day are printed on a marble wall that overlooks New York. H.R. 6287 will ensure that ``never again'' is more than a slogan. It will help protect memorials in my district and across the country for future generations.…”