Heather Wilson, December 17, 2002

The pause between when one Congress ends and the next begins feels like being in a train station to me. It's a bustling place even though your train isn't moving yet. You're still a traveler headed in the same general direction, but you have a chance to pause, to shift the luggage, to reflect on the journey thus far and get ready for the next leg. If you're lucky, you even have time for tea and chocolate.

The 107th Congress will be marked as the Congress that coped with the September 11th attacks and anthrax.

I was talking to one of the Speaker's staff members recently, a good guy who has worked with Denny Hastert for a long time. The Speaker, as third in line of succession under the Constitution, was hustled rapidly away from the Capitol on September 11th. This man was with him. He said he looked over his shoulder at the Capitol dome, an image he has found reassuring for an entire career, and he will never forget how it felt to wonder if it would be the last time he would see that beautiful symbol of the republic.

I'm glad he will never forget that feeling. And all of us, whether we work in Washington or not, have memories and feelings associated with that day and the ones that followed that we will never forget. It's a feeling that reminds me to be greatful.

In the aftermath, we passed the bioterrorism bill, gave the President the authority to wage a war on terrorism, and created a department of Homeland Security. The 107th Congress passed the largest tax relief bill in a generation and democrats and republicans supported landmark education reform.

Not to be overlooked in the 107th Congress were measures enacted to reform our nation's election systems, provide tough penalties for corporate crooks, and modernize pension laws to allow Americans to set aside more money in their retirement plans.

Many other measures that were passed by the House but were not considered by the Senate, including prescription drug benefits for seniors and Medicare reform will be on top of the agenda for the 108th Congress.

There is much work to be done, and I look forward to the "All aboard."

Congresswoman Heather Wilson, a Republican, represents New Mexico's First Congressional District, which includes Albuquerque, in the U.S. House of Representatives.