WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid held a ceremony this afternoon to sign H.R.1, Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007. The legislation will now be sent to President Bush for his signature into law. Pelosi and Reid were joined today by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson and Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman . Below are the Speaker's remarks:
"Good afternoon. Thank you all for coming.
"Today is a special occasion for the Congress and for the country. It is a day when I will join Senator Reid in putting the final signature on this legislation to keep the American people safe.
"They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the phrase '9/11' is worth more than a thousand pictures. Pictures of the faces of the families of 9/11 who came to lobby Congress to establish the Commission in the first place. Without their leadership and advocacy, there would have been no 9/11 Commission, and therefore no 9/11 Commission legislation today.
"9/11 also conjured the picture of Ground Zero, a picture that will haunt the American people until the end of time. But now there is a constant reminder of our vulnerability, it also has a sense of community and how we are all connected and how we all need to protect each other.
"The families of 9/11 understood that. They used their grief and turned their grief into strong advocacy to make our country safer. All of America is deeply in their debt.
"I also want to salute the 9/11 Commission, headed by Governor Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton , our former colleague. The 9/11 Commission provided a great service to our nation and we gather here today to honor their work, and honor our promise to the families of 9/11 and and therefore no 9/11 Commission legislation today.
"This legislation defines a new way for the President and the Congress to work together to create a safer America.
"So it is with great pride that I sign this 9/11 Commission legislation and I do so in the presence of the leader of the Senate, Senator Reid , and paying tribute to two great leaders in this Congress. Thank you, Chairman Lieberman , for your tremendous leadership in bringing this legislation to fruition. You have always been a strong voice for a strong America and it is reflected in this bill. And I take great pride in the chairmanship and leadership of Chairman Bennie Thompson and salute him for his effective leadership and to give us the best possible bill."
SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House
