WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) published an op-ed in Newsweek in commemoration of the September 11 terrorist attacks on our nation. As a lifelong New Yorker, Chairman Garbarino details how that fateful day will continue to guide his and the Committee's mission 24 years later.

Later today, Chairman Garbarino and Committee Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) will lead a bipartisan site visit to Ground Zero to lay flowers at the memorial in remembrance of the victims and first responders, after which they will tour the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Read the op-ed here and below.

Homeland Committee Chair: Never Forget is About More Than Remembrance-It's a Call to Action
Newsweek
Andrew R. Garbarino (NY-02)
September 11, 2025

Sept. 11, 2001, is more than a dark moment in history; it is a day that has forever marked New Yorkers and the nation, especially the families and first responders who lost loved ones and those who are still impacted to this day.

A total of 2,977 innocent lives were brutally taken at the World Trade Center, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon that Tuesday morning. First responders rushed into action, many knowing they would not return home.

In the days, weeks, and years that followed, survivors faced debilitating health impacts caused by the toxic ash that filled the Manhattan air. Illnesses caused by these toxins have killed more first responders in the years since the attacks than on that fateful day. Today, more than 63,000 first responders are facing ongoing battles with 9/11-related cancers and other serious health conditions.

Every one of these losses is a direct casualty of a foreign terrorist attack on this nation.

"Never Forget" is more than a phrase of remembrance. It is a call to action that continues to guide my career in public service, and it must guide our nation as we work to prevent another 9/11 from ever happening again.

Like so many others, I remember where I was when our nation came under attack. I was a senior at Sayville High School, glued to the television in the school's basement for hours as we watched in horror.

In the face of unimaginable tragedy, New Yorkers and Americans across this great country united. I saw this firsthand while working at Brinkmann's hardware store the day after the attacks, where waves of my neighbors came in to buy buckets, masks, and gloves-anything that might aid in the recovery effort. We sold out of American flags almost immediately. My community's unwavering resilience has always made me proud to be a New Yorker.

The investigations that followed the attacks revealed a devastating failure of imagination within the intelligence community. In response, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and subsequently stood up the House Committee on Homeland Security, and I am honored to serve as the chairman today.

While the creation of DHS and the recommendations laid out in the 9/11 Commission's report have helped to enhance our country's national security posture, our work is far from over.

After 24 years, the tactics of foreign terrorist organizations and lone-wolf actors have become increasingly sophisticated as technology has evolved. Islamist extremists can now radicalize, fundraise, and recruit easier than ever before on U.S. soil and across the globe. While New York remains one of the top terror targets in the world, communities from Boston to San Bernardino to New Orleans have now faced acts of evil at the hands of terrorists. Today, rising rates of antisemitism and domestic extremism continue to increase threats to the homeland.

It is critical that our response remains just as dynamic. Over two decades after 9/11, law enforcement and government agencies are now equipped with more advanced technologies to safeguard infrastructure, monitor and screen at ports of entry, and detect potential threats before they materialize. We must remain vigilant to ensure that America is never again caught off guard by its adversaries.

My colleagues on the committee share this commitment. Year after year, Republicans and Democrats alike have traveled to Ground Zero to reflect on the day that changed our nation forever. Having the chance to thank first responders and honor the memory of those we lost reaffirms the bipartisan mission of our committee.

Together, members of the committee must continue to engage with our executive branch partners and ensure they have the tools, resources, and support necessary to execute this vital mission. Strengthening federal partnerships with state and local homeland security and law enforcement agencies is also vital. Our state and local partners continue to serve as our first line of defense against those who seek to cause terror and destruction. We must also assess the benefit of current DHS programs to find where further progress can be made, from the Urban Area Security Initiative to the Securing the Cities program.

The homeland security mission is an American imperative; one we undertake in honor of those we lost 24 years ago and on behalf of the future generations of Americans who will benefit from what we accomplish moving forward.

Today, One World Trade Center stands in the New York City skyline as an unequivocal message--not of the hate that destroyed the towers that preceded it, but of the unity it took to rebuild.

We must strive together to build a homeland that is safer, stronger, and better prepared for the threats of tomorrow.

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