On the recordJuly 23, 2019
Madam President, I rise to join my colleagues in speaking about our 9/11 heroes. I thank Senator Schumer for his extraordinary leadership, his unwavering support, his dedication to taking this across the finish line, and his unbelievable willingness to lift up the voices of people who were not being listened to. Thank you to Senator Schumer. I want to first note that while we are debating this bill, there is a wake happening on Staten Island right now for Detective Christopher Cranston. A father of 5, he was only 48 years old, but he will be buried on Thursday because of the months of work he did on the pile at Ground Zero at Fresh Kills Landfill. He spent his 20th anniversary just a few weeks ago in chemotherapy. The eyes of the Nation are looking at this Chamber today to see if we finally will stand by our 9/11 heroes for the rest of their lives. In a few minutes, heroes such as James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Lou Alvarez will have their names etched into the history books forever, which is where they belong. Their families are in the Gallery today--here again, walking the halls of this Chamber and this Congress to be heard, here again to ask one more time that this body do what is right: to stand by them in their gravest time of need. Their families are here today to watch whether this Chamber will do what is right. They are standing here with so many others in the 9/11 community who have fought so hard to demand that Congress do the right thing.…