Job Creation

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Delaware for those very important and insightful comments both on the Navy SEALS and on the small business legislation that is pending before this body.

Mr. President, as my colleague, the distinguished Senator from Delaware, has mentioned, over the last 36 or so hours, our Nation and its allies around the globe have rightly celebrated an extraordinary military triumph, a great victory in the war on terror, a turning point, perhaps, toward peace: Osama bin Laden, the heinous mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, who murdered thousands of Americans, has been finally brought to justice.

We are rightly celebrating the extraordinary service, bravery, and skill of the Navy SEALS who were the tip of the spear--an American military that has brought to justice one of the worst war criminals of our time.

We celebrate not only, of course, the Navy SEALS, but all of the men and women who have given their lives and their service over the past years, and their families. We celebrate also the intelligence community's support of this effort, which was so crucial.

Yet even as the celebration has been conducted, on one small beach in Connecticut this news was greeted with solace and somber remembrance. It is the beach at Sherwood Island, in Connecticut, which is home to the living memorial for the Connecticut victims of 9/11, a memorial to 152 victims of this tragedy, this murderous attack by the man who has now been brought to justice. It is a beautiful place--exquisitely and heartbreakingly beautiful. The skyline of New York is visible from this point, jutting out from Westport. The skyline of New York could be seen in flames on the day of 9/11. This place provided a staging area for many of the relief efforts that happened on that day and succeeding days. Now it is a place where the community of Westport, the State of Connecticut, and the world can remember that tragedy and the people who lost their lives. It is also the place where every year Connecticut gathers to honor their memories and their families.

Many come--as some did yesterday--with very mixed feelings. The recent news, while welcome indeed, brings forth anew the agony of their loss. I know there are mixed feelings because I talked, a short while ago, with Lee Hanson, who is the father of Peter Hanson. Peter, his wife Sue Kim and their daughter Christine Lee Hanson all lost their lives on that day. Christine was only two and a half years old. People came to that place yesterday and on many other days to pay their respects and reflect on the tragedy of 9/11. They have felt ambivalence, mixed feelings, and their grief is renewed. For them there is no celebration because the legacy of their loss remains.

At the memorial, on a granite marker in Westport, there reads the following:

The citizens of Connecticut dedicate this living memorial to the thousands of innocent lives lost on September 11, 2001, and to the families that loved them.

Today, while there are many voices who celebrate this victory--and rightly so--there are voices that are harder to hear, perhaps unheard: the victims and their families whose memory I wish to honor today. I wanted to take a moment of our time to recognize those that cannot speak, but in whose memory justice was served.

I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the names of those 152 men and women from Connecticut who died on September 11, 2001, as they are recorded on the memorial that honors their legacy at Sherwood Island.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD.

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, we should be ever mindful of the people whose lives have been changed forever. The families of the victims and survivors need our help. Their children may have grown. Some may have children of their own. Their lives have moved on. Some have come to peace. But their lives, like the lives of the emergency responders who ran into the buildings--the firefighters, the police--have been changed forever. Whether by maintaining a memorial in your community, helping to meet the needs of their children, or just listening to their voices, it is an honor to help those who have already given so much.

Many questions will arise in the days ahead over what will be the course of action for our Nation, but today let us give pause and reflect on how America's military has kept focused on justice for the victims of terror for almost 10 years. We have lost many servicemen and women in the line of duty and many more have been injured in this war. The lives of our veterans who have fought and served and sacrificed in the war on terror have been changed forever. We owe it to them to never forget as we celebrate this victory. We owe it to our veterans who have served and sacrificed to honor that service, not just in rhetoric but in deed. Our veterans have fought for a Nation that keeps faith with them.

We must make sure to leave no veteran behind in education, jobs, and health care--to provide for them what we have obligated and promised to provide. While we hope for peace from this day forward, we must do everything we can to support the brave American men and women in uniform and those of our allies whose relentless service and sacrifice have helped us to win this victory. So too do we support the brave first responders who are always poised, always ready, to respond when their city, State or the Nation calls. They should know they each have the thanks of a grateful Nation.

My hope is that the memory of the victims of 9/11 will bring us together in a time of unity and purpose just as that heinous act did on that day almost 10 years ago. The brutal murderers of September 11, 2001, hit the World Trade Center and hit the Pentagon, but they missed America, as was remarked at the time. They missed what makes America great. They brought us together in a time that we can remember with pride because it was a time of resolve and unity.

I hope the memory of those victims--the 152 from Connecticut and thousands more from around the country--as well as their families can bring us together now in a renewed sense of unity and purpose to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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