PRINTER'S NO. 1326
No. 107 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY ROBBINS, BOSCOLA, ARMSTRONG, BELL, BODACK,
BRIGHTBILL, CONTI, CORMAN, COSTA, DENT, EARLL, ERICKSON,
FUMO, GERLACH, GREENLEAF, HELFRICK, HOLL, HUGHES, JUBELIRER,
KASUNIC, KITCHEN, KUKOVICH, LAVALLE, LEMMOND, LOGAN, MADIGAN,
MELLOW, MOWERY, MURPHY, MUSTO, O'PAKE, ORIE, PICCOLA, PUNT,
RHOADES, SCARNATI, SCHWARTZ, STACK, STOUT, TARTAGLIONE,
THOMPSON, TOMLINSON, WAGNER, WAUGH, WENGER, D. WHITE,
M. WHITE, WILLIAMS AND WOZNIAK, SEPTEMBER 25, 2001
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, SEPTEMBER 25, 2001
A RESOLUTION
1 Commemorating and honoring the victims and heroes of the
2 September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on our nation and
3 commending the President and Congress of the United States
4 for taking all steps necessary to care for the victims and
5 their families, implementing measures to prevent future
6 incidents and working to bring the perpetrators to justice.
7 WHEREAS, On September 11, 2001, the people of the United
8 States were deliberately attacked without warning or
9 provocation, thus evoking another day that will "live in
10 infamy"; and
11 WHEREAS, Let us never forget the nature and character of this
12 cowardly and brutal attack in which individuals without
13 conscience turned the early minutes of a normal workday into a
14 vision of horror, with more American blood spilled on American
15 soil than anytime since the Civil War; and
16 WHEREAS, These senseless, inhuman acts have turned our
17 beloved, tranquil homeland into a scene of untold suffering and
1 destruction; and
2 WHEREAS, The World Trade Center became a tomb for American
3 Airlines Flight 11, carrying 81 passengers and 11 crew members,
4 and United Airlines Flight 175, carrying 56 passengers and 9
5 crew members; and
6 WHEREAS, United Airlines Flight 93, carrying 38 passengers
7 and 7 crew members, crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the
10 Pentagon, killing 58 passengers and 6 crew members; and
11 WHEREAS, The unthinkable has occurred with the shedding of
12 American blood on American soil by commercial aircraft under the
13 control of suicide hijackers; and
14 WHEREAS, The bombing of Pearl Harbor nearly 60 years ago
15 resulted in the loss of 2,388 American lives; and
16 WHEREAS, America gave 3,393 of her sons on D-Day to liberate
17 Europe; and
18 WHEREAS, The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are a
19 tragedy of epic proportions, with preliminary reports of 252
20 confirmed dead, 6,291 injured and updated reports of 6,453
21 missing in the destruction of the World Trade Center and 189
22 presumed dead in the attack on the Pentagon; and
23 WHEREAS, The President of the United States has called these
24 attacks of wanton aggression acts of war that will solidify our
25 resolve to defeat the forces of terrorism; and
26 WHEREAS, This is the latest in a long series of murderous
27 rampages committed against the United States and the world,
28 including: the October 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in
29 Beirut, the December 1988 bombing of the Pan Am flight over
30 Lockerbie, Scotland, the February 1993 truck bomb which crippled
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1 the World Trade Center, the August 1998 bomb attacks on the
2 United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the suicide
3 attack on the USS Cole in October 2000; and
4 WHEREAS, The attacks on the people of the United States are
5 attacks on the people of the entire civilized world as at least
6 62 countries lost citizens in the carnage at the World Trade
7 Center; and
8 WHEREAS, The world is outraged and shocked by such death and
9 senseless mayhem and there appears to be no limit to the malice
10 of those who must find some inconceivable satisfaction from the
11 slaughter of innocents; and
12 WHEREAS, Our national resolve has come together as never
13 before, for we, as one people, have a spirit that is solid and
14 impenetrable; and
15 WHEREAS, Over $200 million has been donated to date for
16 financial assistance and aid to the victims of the attacks; and
17 WHEREAS, Those who cause us harm will be brought to justice
18 in a world made smaller by the unity of all peoples of good
19 will; and
20 WHEREAS, We encourage all Pennsylvanians and Americans to
21 pray for peace, the end of conflict and comfort for the victims,
22 their brokenhearted families and our bruised nation, as we share
23 in the grievous losses of their loved ones; and
24 WHEREAS, In the days that have followed the tragedy we have
25 heard of people, most previously unknown to us, whose lives were
26 taken through these despicable acts. Let us celebrate their
27 lives and accomplishments as their loss will impoverish our
28 country in ways as of yet unknown; and
29 WHEREAS, We encourage support for our President, George W.
30 Bush, as he weighs the options before him and seeks wise counsel
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1 for the difficult decisions that must be faced by our country in
2 the months ahead; and
3 WHEREAS, We witness the prayer services, candlelight vigils
4 and spontaneous supportive actions of a grieving nation that are
5 a balm to wounded hearts across our stricken land; and
6 WHEREAS, Our duty is not to shrink, fearful of the future,
7 but to go boldly to claim our place as a leader among nations
8 and a people committed to freedom and justice; and
9 WHEREAS, We go forth affirming our cherished liberty and
10 freedoms and vow to rebuild an even better America and world;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, We go forth fulfilling the promise of the future
13 that was taken from so many as their sacrifice demands; and
14 WHEREAS, The intent of these horrific acts was to divide us
15 into irreconcilable parts, let us confound such terrorism and
16 come together as a nation and as a people as never before in a
17 spirit of tolerance and true compassion for the beliefs that
18 unite us are far more plentiful than the items that divide us;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, Even as our nation weeps for our murdered fathers,
21 mothers, sons and daughters, we will undertake the necessary
22 task of rebuilding and safeguarding our future; therefore be it
23 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
24 urge the President and the Congress of the United States and
25 this Commonwealth to commemorate every September 11 as a day of
26 mourning and remembrance; and be it further
27 RESOLVED, That the Senate extend its deepest sympathies and
28 condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this
29 terrible tragedy; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the Senate unanimously and unequivocally
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1 condemn those individuals and countries who played any part in
2 the shedding of innocent American blood; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
4 the President of the United States, the presiding officers of
5 each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from
6 Pennsylvania.
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