9/11 victims' families join officials in push to make Sept. 11 a federal holiday

In the days after the Twin Towers fell, President George W. Bush stood holding a megaphone at Ground Zero with his arm around FDNY firefighter Bob Beckwith from Baldwin, announcing from the rubble, "We hear you."

Beckwith, 91, died of 9/11-related illnesses in February, his name joining 4,560 others added to the Town of Hempstead's memorials of lives lost since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Now, as his family marks another solemn anniversary of the attacks, they are joining elected officials urging Congress to make Sept. 11 a federal holiday, to enshrine the day in history and keep the promise to "Never Forget."

"The memory of national unity that we all felt following 9/11 seems to be fading, yet it is vital that future generations of Americans be instructed on what happened during those dark days," Bob Beckwith’s son Richard Beckwith said Friday at the Town of Hempstead’s Sept. 11 memorial at Point Lookout.

Beckwith is supporting a bill by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Pearl River) and co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park) that would make Sept. 11 a federal holiday, closing schools and government offices.

The bill was introduced in March 2023 and remains waiting to be heard by the House Oversight Committee. It has six co-sponsors, including four Democrats, but is still waiting to be advanced for a vote.

D’Esposito and Hempstead Town officials joined Beckwith and other families of 9/11 victims urging Congress to pass the bill. 

"I think what’s most important is making it a priority," D’Esposito said. "We are reminded weekly that Sept. 11 is still present. We’re at the point now where the NYPD and the FDNY are surpassing the amount of individuals who actually died on Sept. 11. So, it’s about making sure that our colleagues in the House realize that this isn’t something that we can only focus on in the second week of September every year. It’s not something we’re going to forget about."

Congress voted in the weeks after the attacks to declare Sept. 11 as a national day of mourning and passed a joint resolution to observe it each year as "Patriot Day" starting in 2002, as a "national day of service and remembrance."

The resolution was not binding as a federal holiday. The bill in Congress would make it the 12th federally recognized holiday, falling after Labor Day, which is observed on the first Monday in September.

Designating a holiday comes at an estimated cost of $850 million to pay federal employees, excluding the military and post office, according to the National Taxpayers Union. D’Esposito said he would work to find other cuts in the budget to pay for the holiday if needed.

Hofstra Political Science Professor Rosanna Perotti said there also may be resistance in designating it as a federal holiday if it could take away from the solemn nature of Sept. 11. On that day in 2001, the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a plane crash in western Pennsylvania killed almost 3,000 people.

"It’s obvious when someone talks about the sobriety of this day, this is different than Labor Day or other days that are more celebratory," Perotti said. "I don’t think it will ever lose its importance in our national memory as an attack on U.S. soil." 

D’Esposito is running for his second term to represent New York’s 4th District in November. His challenger, Democrat and former Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen, said she also would support designating Sept. 11 as a holiday.

"As we approach the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, we must continue to honor the memories of the victims and support the survivors and their families, which includes making it a national holiday," Gillen said. "In Congress, I will always fight for resources for the 9/11 community, especially ensuring lifetime access to health care coverage and mental health programs."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.