Recognizing 10th Anniversary of Bombings of Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania

Floor Speech

RECOGNIZING 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF BOMBINGS OF EMBASSIES IN KENYA AND TANZANIA -- (House of Representatives - September 23, 2008)

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Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

August 7, 1998, is a day that will never be forgotten. With near simultaneous vehicular bombing attacks by members of al Qaeda on our embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the United States was challenged to face a new world. The violence that day claimed the lives of Americans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians with a death toll of 213 individuals in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania. The injured numbered well over 5,000. As great as the tragedy that day, without the dedication and bravery of the security individuals of those embassies, those acts of terrorism would have been far more catastrophic.

Shortly after the bombings, Congress provided $50 million in emergency supplemental appropriations to aid in the recovery process. And last October, the House passed the Foreign Service Victims of Terrorism Act of 2007 which provides compensation to the families victimized by these tragedies who are still recovering from their loss.

Our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam have been rebuilt. Nevertheless, we must never forget the tragedy of that fateful day, and we must always remember the significance of the lives of those lost.

Madam Speaker, that is why I strongly urge and support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to join me in that support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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