[jigsaw]

HLL, what about Hillary?

She was recently determined to have voted for more spending than any other senator last year.

Now that she has openly complained about Bush's response, do you have her record on defense and intelligence spending?

I wonder if her few votes to deny spending were targeted at the military.

Thanks.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Remarks Of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on 9/11 Warnings

May 16, 2002

Remarks Of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
on 9/11 Warnings

On The Floor Of The United States Senate

As Prepared

Mr. President, I rise today out of respect for, and to speak on behalf of, the people of New York. I am especially mindful today of the memory of the people in New York who were lost on September 11, and their family members and loved ones, who grieve for them to this day.

We learn today something we might have learned at least eight months ago: that President Bush had been informed last year, before September 11, of a possible Al-Qaeda plot to hijack a US airliner.

The White House says that the President took all appropriate steps in reaction to that warning.

The White House says that the warning did not include any specific information, such as which airline, which date, or the fact that a hijacked plane would be used as a missile. Those are all important issues, worthy of exploration by the relevant committees of Congress. The goal of such an examination should not be to assign blame, but to find out all the facts.

And I also support the effort by Senators Lieberman and McCain to have an independent National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon The United States, which was reported out of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in March.

Such a panel can help assure the people of New York and all Americans that every facet of this national tragedy will be fully explored, in hopes that the lessons we learn can prevent disasters in our future.

I appreciate the Senator from Connecticut's remarks on the floor earlier today indicating his desire to offer this proposal as an amendment at the earliest possible convenience. Because we must do all we can to learn the hard lessons of experience from our past and apply them to safeguard our future.

That is why I also support the call by the distinguished Majority Leader, Mr. Daschle, for the release of the Phoenix FBI memorandum and the August intelligence briefing to Congressional investigators, because, as Senator Daschle said this morning, the American people "need to get the facts."

Mr. President, I know some things about the unique challenges faced by the person who assumes the mantle of Commander in Chief. No one but those individuals who have that responsibility can truly know the full scope of the burdens of that office. But I've had the privilege of witnessing such history up close. And I know there is never any shortage of second-guessers and Monday morning quarterbacks, ready to dismantle any comment, or critique any action taken, or not taken.

Having experienced that from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, I will not play that game, especially in this circumstance.

I am simply here today, on the floor of this hallowed chamber, to seek answers to questions. Questions being asked by my constituents. Questions raised by our newspapers in New York, such as the one with the headline "Bush Knew." The President knew what? My constituents would like to know the answers to those questions. Not to blame the President or any American. But just to know. To learn from experience. To do all we can to ensure that a 9/ll never happens again.

The pain of 9/ll is revisited every time a scene of the flaming towers appears on the television. It is revisited every time we see a picture of the cleanup at Ground Zero. It is revisited every time the remains of a fallen hero is recovered. And it is revisited today, with the questions about what might have been, had the pieces of the puzzle been put together in a different way before that sad day in September.

I cannot answer the questions my constituents are asking. I cannot answer the concerns raised by the families of the victims.

As agonizing as it is to even think that there was intelligence suggesting the possibility of the tragedy that occurred, particularly for the family members who lost a loved one, it's a subject that we are absolutely required to explore.

As for the President, he may not be in a position to respond to all of those concerns. But he is in a position to answer some of them, including the question of why we know today, May 16, about the warning he received, and why we did not know this on April 16, or March 16, or February 16, or January 16, or December 16, or November 16, or October 16, September 16........or August 16?

And I hope that the President will assume the duty that we know he is capable of fulfilling, exercise the leadership that we know he has, and come before the American people at the earliest possible moment to answer the questions so many Americans are asking today. That will help. My constituents would appreciate it.

After all, it's the not knowing that hurts the most.

HLL..." Pardon me while I hurl".