Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time. I want to thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters and all the members of the Financial Services Committee for working with me to…
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time.
I want to thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters and all the members of the Financial Services Committee for working with me to pass this important legislation. It is something I began work on early in my tenure here in Congress, and it is important to me and to my fellow New Yorkers and, I think, our fellow Americans, as well, to see this legislation pass today.
Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, our Nation was rocked by the most vicious terrorist attack in our Nation's history. The devastation and the loss of life shook the American people to their core. It shook the entire world.
But that morning, we also witnessed the bright light of heroism. The world saw and heard inspiring tales of rescue by public safety officers: our police officers, our firefighters, and our EMTs. They heard heartbreaking stories of many of those heroes, their injuries and their tragic deaths, people who risked their lives to save others.
There is something incredible about our public safety officers. Day in and day out, they put their lives on the line.
Growing up, most of us were taught to run out of burning buildings, but they do exactly the opposite. They are trained and they are devoted to responding to just that type of situation. They run into those buildings not to protect themselves or even the property, but primarily to save lives.
That is exactly what hundreds of first responders did on that fateful day in America. They ran in without pause. They climbed flights and flights of stairs, while an inferno raged above them. And as we remember all too well--the images are burned in our minds forever-- those towers eventually fell, taking just about all who were living inside those towers with them.
This experience affected all of us, and it still affects us all today. It personally impacted thousands of people in New York and in the New York region, I would say the quad-State region and beyond. It affected people right here in our capital region and our Pentagon. It certainly affected the people in Pennsylvania and in Boston, and wherever those flights were heading that day.
It was a national attack against America. Every soul in America experienced that attack. And it impacted me, personally, as well, because my dear, good friend and first cousin, Battalion Chief John Moran, was one of those brave public safety officers inside the towers that morning. His last known words were as his truck pulled up to Tower 2. He said: ``Let me off here. I'm going to try to make a difference.''
That is what all those who served that day tried to do: they tried to make a difference.
So, for me, as for thousands of Americans, the effort to honor these men and women is personal. After the attacks took place, I began working on legislation to do just that.
Earlier in 2001, just a few months before the attacks, Congress had created a Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor for those who went above and beyond the call of duty. But there wasn't a way to give that award posthumously to the many who displayed extraordinary courage and who perished on September 11. But we needed to change that, and we did.
In 2004, Congress finally passed our legislation, the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor Act, which established a decoration, posthumously awarded by the President of the United States, to the public safety officers who died rescuing individuals at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and elsewhere on 9/11.
The following year, I attended the ceremony at the White House with
many of the victims' families, where then-President George W. Bush bestowed this honor on 442 heroes and their families. They all deserved this important recognition.
But as the years went on, the Nation began to learn of the longer lasting effects of the attacks because, as we all know, the story of this tragedy did not end simply on September 11. For weeks and for months after the attacks, officers continued to work day and night, first on search and rescue missions, and then on the cleanup of the wreckage itself.
The toxic dust spewing into the air, when inhaled, proved to have enduring deadly effects, particularly for our first responders. For example, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association, more than 170 firefighters have died as a result of 9/11-related injuries.
Eighteen officers died in 2017 alone. Hundreds of other public safety officers have met similar fates.
At the time that we passed the original 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor bill, we did not yet know that more brave public safety officers would fall ill and pass away because of their dedicated service to their country. They, too, were heroes, and they deserve to be honored as such.
That is why I have worked to introduce this new 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor Act. This bill will grant the medal to public safety officers who worked at the sites of the attacks and have since died from a 9/11- connected illness as defined in the Zadroga Act. It will also allow those who continue to succumb to 9/11-related illnesses to receive this award.
I am proud to say the legislation has the support of a wide array of public safety organizations, including the International Association of Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Association of Police Organizations, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Sheriffs' Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, the FealGood Foundation, and, of course, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the New York City Police Department, and that of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well.
Without the tireless advocacy efforts of these organizations, we would not be here today. So I am extremely grateful for the work that they have done and are committed to continue to do to make this bill law. I look forward to the day when we finally honor the hundreds of heroes who have died since 9/11 for the outstanding work they did and what they continue to do to help our Nation recover.
I want to thank, again, the chairman, Mr. Hensarling, Ranking Member Waters, all of my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee who cosponsored this bill from New York and around the country as well, and all of those who have helped get this long-overdue bill passed here today.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to its passage by the Senate and being signed into law by the President. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, in case the gentleman was going to yield back, I just want to thank my staff as well, both those who worked back in 2004 to help pass the original legislation, and my staff today.
In particular, I want to thank my chief of staff back home in Queens, AnneMarie Anzalone, whose husband at the time was a member of the New York City Police Department, and was a part of the cleanup on the restoration after the attack in Manhattan. It was because of her thoughtfulness in terms of moving me and pushing me to pass this legislation that this bill has come to the floor today. So I want to thank her in particular for her efforts.
I thank the gentleman again for yielding.
