Twenty-Five Years Later, Long Island Remembers

Every September 11th, communities across Long Island gather at local memorials to remember those we lost 25 years ago. Families return year after year to hear the names of their loved ones read aloud. We remember the 2,977 innocent people who were killed that day and the extraordinary bravery of the firefighters, police officers, first responders, and all Americans who put themselves in harm’s way to help others.

For those of us who lived through September 11th in New York, those memories have never really left us. I was a senior in high school that morning. I remember hearing that the first plane had hit and, like so many others, not understanding what was happening until the second plane struck. In the days that followed, the television seemed to show the pile around the clock, with first responders working at all hours searching for survivors and beginning the long recovery.

But here on Long Island, we are reminded all too often that the consequences of that day are not confined to history. Responders and survivors continue to be diagnosed with cancers and other 9/11-related illnesses. Some firefighters were only 21 or 22 years old when September 11th was their first call. They are now in their forties, and some are just getting sick.

We knew after September 11th that we had an obligation to take care of the people who were there for us. The World Trade Center Health Program has helped us keep that promise. This year, after a long bipartisan fight, we secured the funding necessary to protect the program for the lifetime of those who rely on it. Responders and survivors should never have to wonder whether the care they need will still be there for them.

I am especially grateful to the responders, survivors, families, unions, and advocates who made that possible. For years, they traveled from Long Island to Washington to fight for the 9/11 community. They walked the halls of Congress and shared stories that were often incredibly difficult to tell. They kept coming back because they knew their fellow responders were counting on them. Their determination is the reason so much progress has been made, and they deserve our thanks.

September 11th also changed the course of our country. Thousands of Americans answered the call to serve in our military, and many made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation in the years that followed. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and the committee I now have the privilege of chairing because we understood that our country could never allow an attack like that to happen again.

At the time of the attacks, I never could have imagined that I would one day be in a position to have an impact on the 9/11 community, first as a Congressman from New York and now as Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. My predecessor, Congressman Pete King, was one of the committee’s first chairmen and spent years fighting for 9/11 responders and survivors. It is an honor and a privilege to continue that work today.

I have dedicated much of my time in Congress to fighting for the responders, survivors and families who are still living with the consequences of that day, and I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. Whenever my time in Congress comes to an end, I hope my legacy will be that I stood with this community, helped keep the promises our country made to them, and never stopped fighting to make sure they were taken care of.

This anniversary belongs to the families who lost someone they loved, the heroes who answered the call, the responders and survivors who still live with the effects of that day, and the advocates who have spent 25 years making sure they are never forgotten.

We made a promise that we would never forget them. The best way we can keep that promise is to continue showing up for the 9/11 community just as they showed up for us.