A time of Remembrance, but also some PR

     Mike Fitzpatrick has long made issues concerning our soldiers and veterans a focal point of his legislative agenda.  Through his actions on both the national and local levels, he has won the support of military forces within his home district.  As mentioned in a previous post, Fitzpatrick helped lead the way in securing the establishment of a 205-acre National Veterans' Cemetery in his home district.  On a more national scale, Fitzpatrick has stood firm in his position on Syria, stating that we still lack the critical information needed to justify the commitment of American soldiers to the conflict.
    Given his dedication to veterans, it is not surprising that Representative Fitzpatrick took the time to deliver a 9/11 address through his YouTube account.  Over the course of his address, Fitzpatrick accomplished several things.  He first took the time to commemorate the events that had taken place on 9/11 twelve years ago, honoring the victims and their families, even appearing within the video with a widow of one the pilots whose plane was hijacked on 9/11.  He then took the opportunity for a bit of self-promotion, however, through actions he either had or is currently taking on both the national and local levels.  He reminded his constituents that they could pay their respects on the anniversary of 9/11 at the "Garden of Reflection" in Bucks County, a tribute that, it is worth noting, was completed in large part thanks to a $750,000 Federal Grant Fitzpatrick secured during his first tenure as a representative.  This memorial, of course, is in addition to the aforementioned National Cemetery Representative Fitzpatrick had also successfully brought to Bucks County.
     Fitzpatrick also took the time in his video to try to garner support from his viewers for one of his sponsored bills, titled the "Saracini Aviation Safety Act."  This simple bill looks to add further security measures within airplanes, to help protect pilots and their passengers from future terrorist attacks.  Fitzpatrick obviously chooses a very appropriate time, when we are especially aware of the devastation these attacks can cause, to call for support of a bill that otherwise would go relatively unnoticed (it currently is only being given a 14% chance of even getting out of committee).  This is in spite of the fact that it does have support from both Republican and Democratic co-sponsors.  However, as Fitzpatrick alludes to within his address, this bill may be the victim of poor timing, as it was only introduced by Fitzpatrick in April of 2013.  By now, the poignancy of those attacks has began to fade from our collective memory, and support for a bill such as this is more or less an afterthought.  On the other hand, had the bill been introduced mere weeks after the attacks, it would have certainly received both more attention and support.
      Mike Fitzpatrick delivered a somber address to his followers in commemoration of the twelfth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  However, honoring the victims wasn't the only objective in doing so.  Mike used the opportunity to remind constituents of the vast contributions to public projects in honor of the events that he was able to secure in within his home district.  Furthermore, he also used the time to promote his bill calling for additional security measures within cockpits that, while it may lack the relevance or priority to ever actually be passed, does show that he continues to personally find these issues important.  To the families of victims of 9/11, it shows that not only does he care about honoring their memory at home, but also that he is taking action on the national level to prevent another tragedy like 9/11 from ever happening again.