Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
September 12, 2001 -- Page: S9292

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I cannot think of a more appropriate way to end a speech than the ending that was just given by the Senator from Connecticut--talking about my daughter, talking about his future daughter or son, talking about our former colleague Bob Kerrey's new son.

Every time we reflect upon World War I or World War II or the Korean War or Vietnam or Desert Storm, I am reminded that it is our responsibility to keep the zeal for freedom alive, which was paid for by the blood of so many. I certainly will be committed, along with Senator Dodd and everyone in the Senate, to making sure that my daughter, Bailey, has the opportunity to live in the same wonderful country that I have been able to grow up in and love.

In the coming days and weeks, we are going to be talking about specifics on how we deal with this tragedy. In fact, there are some things coming out now to show that we are acting decisively. I was very proud of the President in giving the order immediately to shut down air traffic in New York, and then throughout America, within minutes of the second terrorist act on the World Trade Center it was then clear that it was terrorism. We shut down every airport and grounded every plane in America. I believe that was exactly the right thing to do and it was only the first response.

Today, the FAA issued an order banning all knives from air crafts brought on by passengers or in carry-on luggage. It used to be you could take a knife on an airplane that was shorter than 4 inches, like the kind many people carry on keyrings. That will no longer be allowed. I am glad the FAA took that immediate action because we know from early reports that those were the weapons used by these terrorists. The FAA has also ended curbside baggage checks. Everything they are doing is right for our country right now.

Later this week I am going to introduce legislation to reinstitute the random sky marshal program. Reinstitution of this program will have U.S. law enforcement personnel randomly assigned to flights to help ensure our safety. These are some of the many things we will address.

I was talking to Senator Warner and Senator Allen this morning about legislation that would allow the vesting for retirement purposes of military personnel who have died in the line of duty such as the many victims at the Pentagon yesterday.

I think their surviving spouse should receive survivors retirement benefits commensurate with the number of years they have served, which is not presently the law. Senator Warner is going to push that bill through the Armed Services Committee because of his great leadership position and because his constituents are so affected.

Many people are in dire straits right now, not knowing what their future is because of the number of people we lost yesterday serving our country in the Pentagon. We are going to see some measures coming forward in the next few days and weeks and months to try to address the many issues that are now occurring because of yesterday's tragedy.

Today, however, is more of a solemn moment. It is a moment of horror, a moment of grief, a moment of tragedy, and a moment for reflection. It is a moment which really can't be described, but we all understand because we feel.

It was once said that "democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.'' We saw that yesterday--for evil and for good.

Yesterday's attack stunned our Nation, shocked a people, and destroyed lives and buildings. The blasts and collapse were felt across our Nation, both physically and emotionally. But they did not destroy our spirit, they did not destroy our faith, and they will never destroy our belief in freedom.

Yesterday was filled with images of horror and unspeakable evil, but also of the American spirit, as individuals and a nation rose to the occasion, met the crisis head on, came together to rescue fellow citizens, and also to show a united front to those who are trying to intimidate us.

Ronald Reagan once said, "No crisis is beyond the capacity of our people to solve; no challenge too great.'' We are proving that to be true. Already we are being touched and inspired by the actions of ordinary people rising to the extraordinary circumstances and proving that they are heroes.

To those who did this and to those who support them: No, we will never give up. We will never back down. And we will never let anyone destroy our spirit. Freedom is too great--protecting freedom transcends all other of our duties.

That is why we, the Congress, present to you to the Nation and to the world a united front. A front united by grief, horror, and a firm resolve to do our job to provide for the common defense. It is our constitutional obligation, but it is also our personal determination.

As we, the Members of Congress, stood on the Capitol steps last night, my colleagues and I were of one mind and one heart.

We will remain so.

Just one person started singing "God Bless America,'' and every Member of Congress just joined in spontaneously.

We are one with those who are struggling desperately to survive, with those fighting courageously to rescue others, with those waiting hopefully for news of loved ones--and with those committed to punish those responsible.

This is not just an official resolve; it is also personal, and every one of us is going to have a personal story.

Yesterday I spent hours on the telephone calling hospitals. Each one of my staff members had a different hospital to call every 30 minutes, looking for the husband of one of my staffers whose office was located in the Pentagon at the exact impact point of the crash. He finally was able to get through to her, and he was OK. He was one of the lucky ones.

But there were those who were not so lucky, such as my friend, whom I loved dearly, Barbara Olson; that courageous young woman who had so much spunk, who called her husband Ted from the airplane that hit the Pentagon with a cell phone, and gave us our first indication of what was happening and how this was unfolding.

Hope is the strength of an individual; it is the strength of a nation. Though nothing in our history compares to this horrifying event, nothing in our character will let us lose hope or let us be consumed by fear.

We are the very beacon of freedom for the entire world--and we will not let cowards extinguish that light. Through the darkness, through the debris, through the clouds of dust, that light still shines, and from it, freedom and hope will continue to reign across the world.

I thank the Chair and yield back my time.