“My fellow Washingtonians, today marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in this country on September 11, 2001. As we remember this tragedy and honor our nation’s resilience, this time is also an opportunity to strengthen our national consciousness and consider what we can keep doing to advance freedom.

“Twenty years is a long time, but all of us who lived through these events remember where we were that day. I was in our nation’s capital, serving in Congress, where I saw the smoke rise from the Pentagon. No one could be sure at first what was happen...