Bob Menendez: “Mr. Chairman, in my district on September 11, 122 of our friends and neighbors never returned home from work, never…”

“Mr. Chairman, in my district on September 11, 122 of our friends and neighbors never returned home from work, never returned to their families. The smoking ruins of the Twin Towers were visible for all of my community to see and, to this day, their absence is still felt every time we look across the Hudson River and see the void where the Towers once stood. So the events of that day are very personal to us. We are reminded of them always. This debate is the most important debate that will be held during the entire 108th Congress: how do we respond to the unanimous, bipartisan recommendations of the 9/11 Commission in protecting this Nation and helping prevent future terrorist attacks from occurring? Over 3 years after that fateful September 11 day, my amendment is based upon the work of the 9/11 Commission and an inquiry that spanned 20 months, 19 days of hearings, 160 witnesses, the review of 2.5 million documents, and interviews of more than 1,200 individuals in 10 countries. The new structure proposed in this amendment is based upon a rock-solid foundation of inquiry and information.”