Chuck Schumer: “I want to take a few brief minutes simply to praise the families from the New York metropolitan area who worked so long…”

“I want to take a few brief minutes simply to praise the families from the New York metropolitan area who worked so long and hard on this bill. Today we live in a cynical time. But these families showed that a small group of people, if they have the will and the fortitude and the strength and the courage, can move mountains, even here in Washington. Without the families, we would not have had a 9/11 Commission. Without the families, we would not have had a 9/11 bill. Without the families, we would not have had each House pass its own bills. And without the families, we would not have had the agreement we have come to now. They are an amazing group. When you look into their eyes, as they carry their pictures of their lost husbands and wives and children and parents, you see the best of America and the best of New York. They are a beacon, a model of strength, of courage, of indomitability, and they can rest easier tonight, as we all can, that our world will be safer, and perhaps the horrible thing that happened to our city and our country on that tragic day of 9/11 will not be repeated, God willing, again.”