WEEKLY SENATE UPDATE

As a nation, the pains of that day will never fade - withstanding even the tempering nature of time. Our nation and our spirit were attacked on September 11^th by a stateless, faceless enemy. But, as a true testament to the unrelenting vigilance of Americans, we rose above the smoldering rubble of Ground Zero and the Pentagon as a nation united and resolved. And, three years later, that enemy is no longer faceless - and they are, now, rightly the ones under attack.

As the President has accurately stated, our nation is entrenched in a global war on terror. American servicemen and women around the world are working in cooperation with our international allies in identifying and extracting the deep roots of terrorist groups. Our joint efforts have led to measurable successes - disruption of financial funding channels to terrorist groups, dismantling of weapons’ trade routes of the black market, and the capture or killing of hundreds of known terrorists.

Our work is not nearly completed, and there will be more sacrifices placed upon the American people. However, we will, as we have in every challenge placed before us in our history, rise with courage and due diligence to the situation and accomplish the mission with resounding success. As we remember those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of September 11^th, let us honor to those who have died in pursuit of justice for those responsible for the atrocities, and freedom for all.

While operations continue around the world to achieve greater international security, we cannot be complacent as the threat to our homeland remains. Without question, our domestic security has been significantly strengthened. Under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, airports are more secure with the addition of professional security screeners from the Transportation Security Administration. Ports and coastline are also safer because of the time and effort invested to strengthen the Coast Guard, which I oversee in my role as Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries and Coast Guard. And land borders with Canada and Mexico are more stringently patrolled through the cooperation of the Border and Protection Agency and the Citizenship & Immigration Services Agency.

Additionally, in cities and towns across Maine, our police and firefighters, our hospitals and health care workers, have received invaluable training and equipment through the allocation of federal preparedness grants - a process that continues today.

As we did not foresee the tragedies of September 11^th, 2001, we cannot foretell what will happen next. But we can and must work together to remain vigilant against an adaptable and resilient enemy who care nothing about killing the innocent. We must also remember those who have come before us, maintain our collective strength in the face of continued threats, and remind each other of the principles and people in which we believe. By working together every day to help change the world, we are paying the highest possible honor to the more than three thousand people who lost their lives on September 11^th, and to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against terror in the days and years that have followed and those to come.

It is the indomitable American spirit – fueled by freedom, polished with compassion and burnished by pride in our country and the men and women who are risking their lives to protect ours, that makes us great as a nation. It is our spirit that will allow us to never forget those lives lost - and our unfaltering spirit that honors our heros, at home and abroad, each day. Because, we will always remember.

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