David Thomas: “Mr. Speaker, I would tell the gentleman that this legislation is meant to be inclusive and not exclusive, and the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would tell the gentleman that this legislation is meant to be inclusive and not exclusive, and the initial response is to take those provisions already in the Tax Code applying to combat situations and terrorist attacks overseas, and bringing them home. That was the very least in the short time that we had that I thought would be at least a minimum appropriate response. As the gentleman indicated, we will have additional responses as we move forward. It is clear that whatever folks think about New York in terms of its role, importance, significance, et cetera, there is no question that the City of New York and the surrounding area took it on the chin for the rest of the United States, and I think we will find that there will be additional ongoing responses to make sure that not just the victims, but those who by their own decisions in carrying out heroic acts and became accidental victims, are going to be taken care of.”