Copyright 2002 Newsday, Inc.  

Newsday (New York, NY)
September 6, 2002 Friday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: VIEWPOINTS, Pg. A40

LENGTH: 327 words

HEADLINE: EDITORIAL;
Welcome Back, Congress; Don't Stand on Ceremony

BODY:
For the first time in more than 200 years, Congress will convene in New York City today. It's only the second joint session in history to be held outside Washington. It's the right place and the right time for a rare road trip.

The hour-long session at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan will be largely symbolic. No real legislative work will be done, although there is plenty of unfinished business awaiting lawmakers back in Washington. In word and deed, Congress will pay tribute to the heroes and victims of the Sept. 11 attack, show solidarity with New Yorkers, and celebrate the resilience of the nation and its people.

After short speeches by congressional leaders, members of Congress will lunch with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a nearby hotel and then lay a wreath at Ground Zero. Once the official program is completed, individual lawmakers should stay awhile. They could see first hand the mammoth and costly rebuilding job the city faces. And they could soak up a bit of New York City's characteristic energy and attitude - the kind of true grit that would serve them well when they go back to work in Washington.

With only two months to go before the midterm election, Congress has a full plate, including bills to create a Department of Homeland Security, to protect pensions and to tweak the nation's energy policy. Facing an Oct. 1 budget deadline, Congress has not yet sent one of the 13 annual appropriations bills to the president's desk. Then there is the pressing need for a robust debate on the prospect of war with Iraq. And, time allowing, Congress should try again to enact a meaningful Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Congress, in earlier forms, was based in New York City from 1785 to 1790. Its return to the city to commemorate the attack on the World Trade Center is fitting. With New York bearing the brunt of the terrorists' challenge to the nation's liberty, a show of national purpose, however symbolic, is bracing.

LOAD-DATE: September 6, 2002