It is more important now than ever to designate Sept. 11 as a national holiday so Americans will never forget what happened on that day in 2001, Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., told Newsmax.
"For me, as someone who took an oath as an NYPD cop and then a detective, we first responders, when we take our oath, we also make a promise in our heart to never forget," D'Eposito told Wednesday's "Wake Up America." "Unfortunately, throughout this country, people do forget."
D'Esposito has joined with fellow Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., to seek legislation to enshrine 9/11 as a national holiday.
"It's not just about a Facebook post," he said. "It's not just about wearing some sort of bracelet that says never forget. It's about actually living out the idea of never forgetting and making sure that we help those who are who are the survivors."
That also means making sure the funding does not end to help the survivors, D'Esposito said.
"I spoke on the floor of the House last night for almost 45 minutes with regards to the 9/11 healthcare funding," he said. "Two of my constituents, Ray Pfeifer, who was an FDNY hero, and Lou Alvarez, who was an NYPD hero, in the last days of their lives they spent on Capitol Hill, they spent on Capitol Hill fighting for funding that quite frankly, these men and women deserve."
But now, fewer people are coming to Capitol Hill to advocate for the 9/11 heroes, as so many are dying, D'Esposito said.
"It's our job to not only make sure that this is a federal holiday," but to secure funding, he said.
Making 9/11 a federal holiday, though, "reminds us that we need to continue to fully fund this healthcare bill."
In addition, a holiday would educate America's youth.
"The people who are graduating high school and entering college weren't even alive on 9/11," he said. "They should know what happened that day, they should know how it happened and probably most importantly, they should know who did it to us and who wanted to attack our way of life here in the United States of America."
The 9/11 issue, he added, is not about politics, but about the United States.
"It was the greatest attack on our soil and there is absolutely no price that you can put on making this a national holiday," D'Esposito said. "And people have said, 'Well, it's going to be another day off. It's going to be a day for car sales and mattress sales.'
"No, that's not what this is about."
Further, he noted that more New York police and fire department personnel have died from World Trade Center-related illnesses in the 23 years since the attacks than died in the attack itself.
"This is never going to end," he said. "People, unfortunately, are going to continue to die. We need to honor their memory. We need to honor that day to make sure that our youth never forget exactly what 9/11 is about.
"It not only is about remembering and reflecting, it's also about avoiding it from happening again, because the more they know, the more that they will understand that there are adversaries around this world who want to cause harm to the United States of America."
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