12 September 2001
Congress Back in Session; Members Vow United Fight on Terrorism
(Measure on Trade Center, Pentagon attacks is day's sole business)
(1180)
By Ralph Dannheisser
Washington File Congressional Correspondent
Washington - The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives returned to
session September 12 - just a day after deadly, coordinated terrorist
attacks in Washington and New York prompted an evacuation of the U.S.
Capitol - and took up a joint resolution vowing that the perpetrators
would be hunted down and punished.
"Today we go back to work ... determined to show the world that
America will not be defeated by anyone," House Minority Leader Richard
Gephardt (Democrat, Missouri) said in one of the opening floor
statements.
Consideration of the joint resolution was the single piece of formal
business on a day when members of both chambers and both parties
pledged their full support to the president and his administration in
dealing with the aftermath of the attack and doing what is needed to
prevent a recurrence.
The Senate passed the measure by a unanimous 100-0 vote; the House of
Representatives was to vote in early evening, with approval a foregone
conclusion.
The joint resolution puts Congress on record as condemning the
terrorists who planned and executed the attacks, "as well as their
sponsors;" promising joint efforts with the president to find and
punish them; extending condolences to the victims and their families
and friends; and commending rescue workers, volunteers and state and
local officials who dealt with the twin tragedies September 11.
The resolution declares that the United States is entitled, under
international law, to respond to the terrorists' "premeditated attacks
... at the symbols and structures of our economic and military
strength."
It also expresses certainty that the people of the United States "will
stand united ... in the aftermath of these tragic acts," thanks
foreign leaders who expressed solidarity with the United States after
the attacks occurred and asks them to "continue to stand with the
United States in the war against international terrorism." And it
commits the Congress to support increased resources in the effort to
eradicate terrorism.
Finally, it declares September 12 to be a national day of unity and
mourning.
Elsewhere in Congress, appropriators set to work on drafting a
supplemental spending bill providing added funds for disaster relief,
investigations, and increased security at potentially vulnerable
sites.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young (Republican,
Florida) said the measure could be considered as early as September
13.
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee coincidentally held a
previously scheduled hearing on the topic, "How Secure Is Our Critical
Infrastructure?" It's chairman, Senator Joseph Lieberman (Democrat,
Connecticut) opened the session by observing, "We are serious about
commencing a war against terrorism.... We have to understand it's
going to be a different kind of war."
He predicted that "future attacks can and will probably be aimed at
paralyzing our financial markets" and other vital systems.
Speaking to media representatives in the White House driveway
September 12, just after he and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle
(Democrat, South Dakota) had met with President Bush, Speaker of the
House Dennis Hastert (Republican, Illinois) declared that "now is the
time for government to move forward."
Hastert declared Congress to be "ready to move on whatever the
president suggests," and promised a bipartisan approach in bringing
that action about. "When somebody takes this country for granted, when
it violates the people of this nation and the sovereignty and the
freedom of this nation, this Congress stands united, shoulder to
shoulder, to do the right thing, to stand up for America, and do the
legislative work and process that we need to do," he said.
Daschle agreed that "we literally and figuratively stand shoulder to
shoulder" in efforts "to help the victims, to care for the families,
and to punish those responsible." He cited passage of the joint
resolution as evidence of "the single-mindedness of that
appreciation."
"We will work with the administration to allocate the resources and to
dedicate whatever strategy may be required to fulfill our
obligations," Daschle said. "It is our strong desire not to do this as
Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans," he added.
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (Republican, Mississippi) shared
both the outrage and the resolve of his colleagues in a statement
issued September 12.
"Let this be said, and let it be understood in every corner of this
world: A great nation does not seek vengeance. A great nation does
pursue justice. In this case, justice may take some time. But it will
come," Lott said. "By day or by night, at once or in stages, without
warning and without pity, justice will come - and with it, all the
hellfire these demons have earned for themselves."
"For now," Lott concluded, "we must mourn our dead, tend our wounded,
and comfort those whose lives have been shattered."
Speaking on the Senate floor September 12, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (Democrat, Delaware) called this "a
time to mourn, but not to despair; a time for resolve, but not
remorse; a time for sober investigation and no recrimination; a time
to unite, not to debate."
Biden urged that, in responding to the crisis, the United States make
certain to adhere to its democratic heritage and established
liberties. "The one thing we cannot allow to change are the values
upon which this country is built, for if that were to occur, then they
[the terrorists] would be able to declare victory, genuine victory,"
he said.
He warned the terrorists that "in this dastardly act, they may have
done what no other group of people could possibly have done, and that
is to unite the civilized world - unite our allies in Europe, who
share our values; unite our Russian friends, our Chinese friends;
unite the world, because that image of that plane smashing into the
second tower has reverberated around the world, and every leader in
every country can picture the same thing happening in their nation."
"There will be very few places to hide," he declared.
And Biden cautioned those "who pretend that they wish to be our
friends that they're going to have to make some very difficult
choices." He singled out Pakistan, which he said would "have to make a
very difficult choice very soon."
Ending on a highly optimistic note, Biden said, "I see in this
cataclysmic tragedy ... the beginning of the end of organized
legitimized terrorist activities."
Earlier, soon after the coordinated attacks on September 11, Rep.
Henry Hyde (Republican, Illinois), chairman of the House International
Relations Committee, declared, "Our friends and our enemies alike must
be made to understand that we will not be deterred from the defense of
our interests nor shrink from our responsibilities."
While Hyde projected a struggle that "may be long and difficult," he
said the tragic attack "calls for the certain and severe punishment of
those responsible and requires a resolve by Americans to address our
vulnerabilities."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
