On the recordSeptember 26, 2018
I thank the gentleman for yielding this time. I want to thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters and all the members of the Financial Services Committee for working with me to pass this important legislation. It is something I began work on early in my tenure here in Congress, and it is important to me and to my fellow New Yorkers and, I think, our fellow Americans, as well, to see this legislation pass today. Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, our Nation was rocked by the most vicious terrorist attack in our Nation's history. The devastation and the loss of life shook the American people to their core. It shook the entire world. But that morning, we also witnessed the bright light of heroism. The world saw and heard inspiring tales of rescue by public safety officers: our police officers, our firefighters, and our EMTs. They heard heartbreaking stories of many of those heroes, their injuries and their tragic deaths, people who risked their lives to save others. There is something incredible about our public safety officers. Day in and day out, they put their lives on the line. Growing up, most of us were taught to run out of burning buildings, but they do exactly the opposite. They are trained and they are devoted to responding to just that type of situation. They run into those buildings not to protect themselves or even the property, but primarily to save lives. That is exactly what hundreds of first responders did on that fateful day in America.…
