Frank Pallone: “Earlier this afternoon many of us attended a congressional prayer service for the victims of the shooting in Arizona…”

“Earlier this afternoon many of us attended a congressional prayer service for the victims of the shooting in Arizona, and I just wanted to reflect on three things that occurred there that really were meaningful for me. One was after the prayer service, the staff of Gabby Giffords were gathered, and we had an opportunity to meet them and shake their hands and talk to them a little bit. And I was just taken aback, first of all, by how young they were and how optimistic they were, of course optimistic about her because they really feel and they're praying, and we all do, that she has a full recovery. But I can't help but reflect on the fact that not only the Congresswoman but her staff were so dedicated. I would often talk to Gabby on the floor oftentimes in the back of this room; and as many have said, she was wonderful. She was so enthusiastic about her job, about her constituents. She is also a beautiful person. And I was just so happy to hear that after the operation that they were optimistic about her recovery, and it seems like every day she gets better. So I'm really looking forward to her coming back here. And I want to pay tribute to her staff. I mean, obviously three of them were injured. One was killed. That person was killed, and all of them were facing the reality, unfortunately, that we do face now that when we do outreach, that there is a certain amount of danger.”