FEBRUARY 9 , 2007

DEAR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS,

Our best wishes to you and your families,

Mary Fetchet

Founding Director

Valentine's Day Article by Dr. Robin F. Goodman

Survivor's Story: "9/11" by Brendan Chellis

Collecting the accounts of 9/11 survivors is an important part of the 9/11 Living Memorial's mission to preserve the lives and stories of September 11th. This week, we spotlight a gripping survivor's narrative by Brendan Chellis, who arrived just a few minutes late to work that morning at Empire Health Choice in the North Tower. He was walking to the elevator in the lobby of Tower One when the building shook and the lobby filled with smoke. His powerful account of experience and emotion on 9/11 is fascinating reading for those who wish to know more about the dramatic events of that terrible day. It is a story of courage and outrage, horror and honor. Please be advised that parts or the story are graphic and could be difficult for some people. His story begins:

"Why did the worst day of our lives start out so nice? Weather-wise, September 11th was beautiful. It was one of those days that you picture them having all the time in California. There literally was not a cloud in the sky. The weather man was promising a high of around 80 degrees.

That day happened to be a “suit day”. One day a week I used to wear a suit. Since we are allowed to dress down at Empire, I needed an excuse to get my nice clothes out of the closet so they wouldn’t get all dusty. And there’s no better way to tell if you’re getting fat than by wearing a suit on a regular basis. They don’t lie. So one day a week I would wear a suit. Now when it was warm, I wouldn’t really wear a full suit. Everything but the jacket. I really wish I wore a pair of sneakers that day..." read "9/11" by Brendan Chellis.

9/11 Family Viewing Room at WTC Site Will Move

The 9/11 family viewing room located at Liberty and Washington Streets will be closed and moved to another site later this month. The current trailer lies above an area slated to be excavated as part of the remains search and construction. It will close following a ceremony on February 26, 2007 to commemorate the 1993 WTC bombing. A new family trailer will be installed above the PATH Station on Church Street and will open March 5. The new site provides views of construction work, and will provide family members with a private space where they can pay their respects to their loved ones. The family room on the 20th floor at 1 Liberty Plaza will remain open. Volunteer family members will move all the personal items in the current family room and redisplay them at the new location. The side of the family room is show above in a December, 2005 photo... Read more of this article

"We worked closely with 9/11 family members to continue to provide them with a quiet, dignified place on the site where they can grieve their loss," Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris is quoted in NY Post coverage. To access the new location, you must enter at Gate 10 just to the south of the WTC PATH entrance on Church Street. The new hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Port Authority Police and FJS Security also have trailers in the immediate area. There will not be public bathrooms at this location.

Issue Spotlight: Screening Cargo in Passenger Airplanes

H.R. 1, the major 9/11 Reforms legislation passed last month in the House, calls for 100% screening of cargo loaded on passenger airplanes by 2010. The screening would The move is a serious response to a serious security loophole. VOICES has worked for years in cooperation with a bipartisan group of Congressional leaders to close the loophole. As Mary Fetchet described the situation in a May, 2005 CNN article: "By double-locking the front door and leaving the back wide open, the DHS has neglected its responsibility to provide the highest standard of security available to the American people." The cargo provisions in H.R. 1, long urged by Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Christopher Shays (R-CT), would close and lock that door emphatically. Mary Fetchet is shown in the picture above with Reps. Markey and Maloney at a press conference touting the passage of H.R. 1. They are holding a cartoon showing a man stripped to his underwear being searched by an airport employee while unscreened cargo moves right to the plane.

The cargo screening provision is one of the most controversial, and expensive, in H.R. 1. It faces opposition from airlines and shippers, who claim the 100% mandate would slow commerce without appreciably improving security. To become law, the provision will also require approval by the Senate, which is currently debating the contents of its own 9/11 reforms bill. If you feel strongly on this issue, contact your Senators as these vital security reforms work their way through Congress.

Click here to visit VOICES for Change's updated Airline Travel security page.

White House Releases Department of Homeland Security Budget Request

Budget figures are notoriously difficult to understand and open to flexible interpretations, but some points have become clear in recent media coverage:

Overall, the DHS budget is expected to grow from 5-10% over last year. A DHS fact sheet claims the White House's request totals $46.4 billion, but CongressDaily coverage reports about "$37.7 billion in total discretionary spending." Customs and Border Protection (an over $40% boost to $8.8 billion) looks to be the biggest winner, along with other border and immigration agencies inside DHS. The budget request would allow the department to hire 3,000 new Border Patrol agents -- bringing the total number of agents to almost 18,000 -- and provide $1 billion to install SBInet, a technology and tactical infrastructure to prevent illegal crossing of the southern border.

Interoperable communications will get a boost from a $1 billion line item for the Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) grant program. According to the DHS fact sheet: "Funds requested through these programs will (1) provide critical assistance to State and local homeland security efforts, (2) support resources available through other federal assistance programs that center on first responder terrorism preparedness activities, and (3) deliver ample support to all State and local first responder organizations to obtain the equipment, training, and other resources required to protect the public in the event of a terrorist attack or other major incident. DHS expects that funding to come from a sale of radio spectrum this fall. According to the fact sheet, other preparedness initiatives include: FEMA’s Vision Initiatives, a program designed to enable the agency "to intensify and speed the development of core competencies central to achieving disaster readiness, response and recovery," grants to further professionalize FEMA's disaster recovery teams, and a big increase in funding for the Coast Guard.

VOICES e-Newsletter will continue to spotlight important items in the DHS budget, as well as reactions from state and local leaders, in future weeks.

Click here to visit VOICES Preparedness page.