Felix Grucci: “Mr. Chairman, my congressional district lies just 45 miles from Ground Zero. My constituents were the first responders…”

“Mr. Chairman, my congressional district lies just 45 miles from Ground Zero. My constituents were the first responders, opening up their emergency rooms, volunteering their rescue services to help mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends, and even strangers, all that were trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on that morning of September 11. America sat with fear and awe, our eyes captivated by the sight of these once-great towers reduced to a pile of smoking debris. But as the hallowed ground of Lower Manhattan is cleared of the rubble and America attempts to heal from the horror of September 11, we continue to work together to find what answers can be mustered from this tragedy and ask the critically important questions to find out how these towers failed. This key legislation, the National Construction Safety Team Act, will give the National Institute of Standards and Technology clear authority and responsibility, as well as the necessary legal tools, to investigate building failures.”