Washington DC – Today, Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Gold River) gave the following speech on the floor of House, recalling the tragedies of September 11, 2001:

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Seven years ago, September 11, 2001, a day that will live in infamy, we suffered as a nation the greatest attack on our shores since a similar day some six decades previous.

The attacks seven years ago brought a unity to this nation that we have been lacking for some period of time. In the ensuing days and years, we have seen remarkable selfless dedication to service by men and women in our armed forces and those who are serving us at home as first responders.

We have to ask, much as Lincoln asked at his famous address at Gettysburg, recognizing that we cannot consecrate the grounds that were attacked more than they have been consecrated by the sacrifices of our fellow citizens: "What can we do to fulfill our obligation?" 

I would just say this, the best way we can maintain our commitment to those who sacrificed and suffered, is to recognize the continuation of the threat against us, the urgency of the matter before us, and the fact that we cannot in any way lag in our responsibility to respond to that threat.

There is a great temptation to ease our security measures because we have not been attacked in the past seven years. We have been able to forestall attacks because of tremendous sacrifice by many men and women serving on behalf of this nation who continue to serve and it would be the height of tragedy if because of their success we would fail to maintain it by ensuring that we maintain daily vigilance.

We take an oath to uphold the constitution but we take an oath beyond that, our first and foremost responsibility is to create the security within which American citizens have exercise their freedoms. 

My plea and prayer today is that we don't accept the successes of the last seven years as inevitable, but we understand that they have been hard fought and that we need to continue that fight.