Maine lawmakers to attend 9-11 session

WASHINGTON – Nearly one year after terrorists toppled the World Trade Center towers and murdered an estimated 3,000 people, Maine’s congressional delegation plans to travel to New York on Friday and take part in a special meeting of Congress to express support for the city.

The special meeting convenes at 11 a.m. at Federal Hall in Manhattan just five days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack.

Nearly half of all members of Congress will take part in the joint session. Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., will preside.

Maine’s two Republicans, Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and the state’s Democratic Reps. John Baldacci and Tom Allen plan to attend the ceremonial gathering.

The meeting will be followed by a lunch with families of victims hosted by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A wreath-laying ceremony at ground zero, the site of the World Trade Center, is also scheduled for later in the day.

“It will be a solemn moment,” said Snowe press secretary Dave Lackey. “It’s time to reflect on the events of Sept. 11 and the steps that have been taken since then.”

The Maine lawmakers will travel early Friday on a special Amtrak train to New York with other members of Congress.

Congress last met at the site of Federal Hall 202 years ago on Aug. 12, 1790, when the city boasted of 29,000 inhabitants living on the southern tip of Manhattan.

The 1842 structure, located some four blocks away from ground zero, was built on the site of New York’s old City Hall, where the first Congress met during New York’s brief period as the U.S. capital.

The Annenberg Foundation has reportedly provided a $1 million grant to help pay for the New York visit.