Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino is urging Congress to move beyond reactive measures and adopt a more proactive stance on national security to prevent future tragedies.
Garbarino, a Republican representing New York's 2nd Congressional District, recalled the events of 9/11 from his high school government class. He noted that the initial reports of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center were misunderstood as a minor incident until the second plane struck.
"Congress is very good at being reactive," Garbarino told Fox News Digital. "We don't want another 9/11. So if I could leave my fingerprints on something here, it's the fact that the focus, Congress' focus on national security, Congress' focus on homeland security or safety, is that we address an issue before something happens."
He expressed concern that Congress tends to address security issues only after an event occurs, a pattern he attributes to the failures that led to 9/11. "That's why 9/11 happened. 9/11 happened because our intelligence agencies, they were siloed, they were not sharing information. I don't know if it was a complacency or whatever, but there were a lot of problems," Garbarino said. "I don't want to fall into that same complacency."
Garbarino, whose district includes part of Long Island, a New York City suburb, highlighted the enduring impact of the attacks on his constituents. "We have people that lost loved ones that day that are still dealing with it 25 years later," he said. "So the scar is still there."
The congressman also pointed to the ongoing health issues affecting first responders and survivors, noting that more individuals have died from 9/11-related illnesses than on the day of the attacks themselves. He mentioned firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center on their first calls and are now developing cancers years later.
Earlier this year, Garbarino was a key figure in advocating for legislation to address a funding shortfall for the World Trade Center Health Program. This program provides medical treatment for survivors. He emphasized that the program's reach extends nationwide, with nearly all congressional districts having at least one participant, underscoring the broad impact of the tragedy.
"People moved out of New York, people who came from all over the country after 9/11 to help, they all went back home, they also got sick. So this does affect the entire country," Garbarino stated.