Vito Fossella: “Madam Speaker, as we all know, tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the greatest attack on the soil of the United…”

“Madam Speaker, as we all know, tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the greatest attack on the soil of the United States of America. In that attack, both at the Pentagon in Virginia, in Pennsylvania, and in downtown Manhattan, the Nation lost thousands of innocent human lives. Since then I think our Nation has been on full alert and in the field combating the war on terrorism, seeking out those evil ones who committed those dastardly acts, so we can ensure that we can keep the peace for future generations. But at the same time, we need to get at the heart of these terrorist organizations in those states that sponsor terrorism. Believe it or not, if an American citizen seeks a judgment in a court of law and is successful against some of these terrorist organizations or states that sponsor terrorism, and assets are frozen by the United States Government, some of those victims who are successful in a court of law may not and indeed are not recovering those assets. It is a little ironic that American citizens can sue their neighbor for a mild act, obtain a judgment and recover, and yet we cannot sue a terrorist organization that killed people, and in this case thousands, and not recover unless the Federal Government on a petition or a case-by-case basis determines that those successful plaintiffs should recover. This motion to instruct will attempt to right that wrong.”