Statement of Representative Davis in support of H. Res. 994
A resolution commemorating the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

September 13, 2006

Mr. Speaker:

Remembrance is a solemn obligation, a duty owed by every generation to those whose honor, love and sacrifice light our way today. To the 2996 souls who perished on September 11th 2001, we owe more than political rhetoric, more than annual ritual. They are remembered best, they live, not just in what we say but in what we do to build a safer, more peaceful world.

So the resolution before us today rightly speaks of actions taken, and calls for all Americans to act in the generous, unified spirit born that deadly day. In calling for September 11th to be observed as a day of national service, we seek to build a living monument to all who have died in the long simmering war that erupted onto our shores five years ago. Good done in their name has a special power against the evil we fight.

9/11 brought that evil home: to homes in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and to shocked and grieving homes across our nation. "Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God." Spoken the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt's words evoke the realism and optimism needed to meet our present peril.

As then, we are at war and no political difference or debate can detract from the heroic work done every day by the men and women of America's military. The 184 people who gave their lives at the Pentagon five years ago fought on an unexpected battlefield, but toiled until the end in loyal service to the national ideals - liberty and justice - to which we pledge allegiance each day in this chamber. Let us pledge in their memory to honor and support all those who fight to defend America and advance freedom.

Unlike the last global conflict, this war is being waged surreptitiously, the enemy lurking among us in shadowy networks and across cyberspace. On 9/11 America's first responders got a bitter taste of this new era, but their valor and grit carried us all through that day and those that followed. In memory of their fallen comrades, let us pledge through this resolution to honor and support the work of the public safety and public health professionals who work every day to protect us from terrorist attacks.

This resolution is also an opportunity to renew the sense of urgency forged in the crumbling inferno of the Twin Towers. With each passing year, what looked hugely urgent after 9/11 tends to get smaller in the viewfinder as more current problems loom large. But while we lose sight of the threat, an enemy who relentlessly worked to transform airplanes into guided missiles is maniacally focused on other ways to harm us.

Distance from the tragedy of 9/11 has also allowed some politics to seep into our security equations. Our vulnerabilities are many, and always will be. There will always be risks and there will always be those eager to take advantage of them. To those seeking to exploit fears rather than build trust, the glass will always be half empty. But genuine security after 9/11 is not a static goal or measurement; it is a process and a mindset. If we stay alert, get good intelligence on the evolving threat, and take the prudent precautions we re willing to tolerate and able to afford without crashing the economy or terrorizing ourselves, we'll be safe. It's more than luck there hasn't been another major attack since 9/11.

So we remember and we pray for the dead and for their families, friends and colleagues. And, as we face the certain challenges of an uncertain future, we take solace in the ancient Hebrew lesson, "There are stars whose light only reaches the earth long after they have fallen apart. There are people whose remembrance gives light in this world long after they have passed away. Their light shines in our darkest nights on the road we must follow."