“Senator, thank you. And good afternoon everyone. I think it goes without saying that we owe a great debt of gratitude, Kirsten, to you and to Jerry and to Pete and Carolyn. Chuck had a little bit to do with it as well.

“We’ve come back to this spot – where so many showed such inspiration and valor and dedication – to say that our nation has at long last done its duty. And I think it’s fitting that yesterday’s action in Congress came at the same time that we celebrated another milestone here at the World Trade Center site: yesterday we replanted what has come to be known as the ‘Survivor Tree’ – one that was found charred and twisted under the rubble after 9/11, and then was nursed back to health over the last nine years. And that tree, I think, now stands as a living symbol of our resilience and our endurance in the face of tragedy.

“Yesterday’s actions on Capitol Hill were a testament to that spirit, too. And only days ago, it looked like this bill was dead in the water, as Chuck said.  But the people standing here – and countless others – worked tirelessly to negotiate changes and build the necessary support to revive and pass that bill.

“And in particular, I just wanted to thank some of the members of my team at City Hall for their great work – including Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs, former Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler, Andrea Cohen, Rima Cohen, Commissioner Cas Holloway, Michelle Goldstein, Brian Geller, and Tamiru Mammo.

“We all remember the strong sense of shared purpose we felt in the wake of 9/11. We all recall the powerful pride that we felt in being Americans. Not Democrats or Republicans, urban or rural, from a big state or a small state – but Americans. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that the people I’m standing with today have been able to recapture that sense of patriotic unity for the sake of those who sacrificed so much.”