Six years ago today - just after 9 AM on Wednesday, April 19, 1995 - a truck bomb exploded outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 men, women and children - 35 of them our HUD coworkers and friends.

As you go about your day, I encourage you to find time for a moment of silence - in prayer or contemplation - to pay tribute to all of the victims of this attack. These were men, women and children just like us - ordinary Americans of all races, colors and creeds - and this tragedy could as easily have befallen you, or me, or our dear families.

The grace of God still has a hand in our healing, and today we have a greater sense of pride in our nation. But none-the-less, we continue to be inspired by the courage and dedication of those who experienced that tragic day, and we will continue to pray for those who lost their lives or their loved ones. We also will learn from the example of our Oklahoma HUD colleagues today - making every new day an opportunity to help the families and communities our Department was created to serve.