Senate votes to condemn attacks

Both houses of Congress reconvened Wednesday, moving toward passage of a strongly worded resolution condemning Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington that also offered condolences for the victims and promised retribution against those responsible.

In a show of unity, congressional leaders emerged together Wednesday afternoon from the White House following a meeting with President Bush that lasted more than an hour.

"We are in complete agreement that we will work together," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. "We will be ready to move on whatever the President suggests and we will go through the debate and actions of Congress in a bipartisan way to make that happen."

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Democrats would "work with the administration to allocate the resources and to dedicate whatever strategy may be required to fulfill our obligations." He pledged bipartisanship in considering "whatever other actions may be required in the days ahead."

While the Senate approved its resolution on a 100-0 vote Wednesday afternoon, the House was engaged in what was expected to be a day-long debate after House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., offered the bipartisan resolution.

"We will address this resolution until every member of this body has time to adequately address this," Armey said.

The House, which never ended legislative business Tuesday, returned this morning to applaud speeches by Armey and Gephardt with standing ovations.

"Throughout our proud history, we have met every challenge and we will meet this challenge," Gephardt said.

During the Senate debate, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., revealed that he and his wife had shared the agony of thousands of others during Tuesday's events. Noting that one of his daughters "attends high school in the shadow" of the now- destroyed World Trade Center, he related how he and his wife "were in virtual panic" for two hours wondering about his daughter's safety.

"Then, praise God, she called and we were relieved," he said, comparing his experience to what so many others were going through wondering whether loved ones were safe. His voice cracking, Schumer said, "Let us hope and pray" that they find their relatives safe--as he did.

Schumer, an often blunt-spoken partisan, and said he had assured Bush that "partisanship divisions are out the window on this." Schumer and his junior colleague, Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, were scheduled to travel to New York City Wednesday afternoon with Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Joe Allbaugh--a Bush confidant --to survey the damage.