Washington, D.C. — Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, issued the following statement in response to the terror attacks in Brussels.

“Today, I extend my deepest condolences and prayers to the victims and families impacted by the senseless and tragic terror attacks committed against the people of Belgium. These horrific acts know no race, gender or nationality.

“We must remain vigilant in the protection of Americans here at home by taking every necessary precaution to quell the fears of the American people. We must also stand with our allies across the world to unite against these abhorrent acts of terror in order to end them permanently.

“Terrorists are leveraging Europe’s open borders and the ease at which people can move from country to country undetected. As The Washington Post’s David Ignatius has pointed out, ‘What they’ve [Europe] realized is that they don’t have a firm, hard external border so that they can see who is coming into the entire [Shengen] group and then do monitoring.’

“Today, rather than become incapacitated by these acts of aggression, we join our sisters and brothers in Europe to condemn these offensive crimes and recommit ourselves to the defense of freedom and humanity.”

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