'Tragic Day For Oklahoma': Congressional Delegation Observes OKC Bombing 29 Years Later

Outside of Oklahoma, the anniversary of the bombing can sometimes get overlooked, especially with all that’s going on in the world. But on Capitol Hill, as hectic as it is there, there are still some who will ‘never forget’.

There's typically not much going on at the Capitol on Fridays, but this Friday was different — the House was working to push through a controversial foreign aid package, the Senate was trying to keep FISA from expiring before a midnight deadline, and some members from Oklahoma were observing 168 seconds of silence.

Senator James Lankford gathered his staff this morning for quiet reflection and a short prayer at the exact time the truck bomb went off 29 years ago.

"For me, it’s important that we continue to remember," Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said in an interview Friday. "For the survivors, for those first responders, and for all those family members that know full well with this really meant."

It meant pain and suffering, anger and disgust. It demanded strength and resilience and, in the end, brought Oklahomans justice and, some would argue, the discovery of something bigger than themselves -- the Oklahoma Standard.

"That day was an awful, tragic day for Oklahoma," said Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (R-OK5) in an interview Thursday. "But we came together. We stood shoulder to shoulder, we helped our friends and family in need."

Congresswoman Bice asks all of her staff, even those in Washington, when they're in the 5th District, to make time to visit the Memorial.

"I want those staffers that may not be from Oklahoma City, or who may have been born after the April 19 event, to really take in what happened that day," Bice said. "How tragic it was for our state, but also the healing that comes from it even today."

Senator Lankford agrees and says the lessons of that day apply very much to the highly polarized world we live in today.

"April 19 and the Memorial and all the things around it remind us there is a tipping point," Lankford stated, "where division and anger move to contempt and violence, and we never want to be able to get to that point because we see the destruction in our families, in our own state, in our own lives."

The rest of the Oklahoma delegation also marked the anniversary with statements on social media.

Just one current member was in Congress 29 years ago -- 3rd District Congressman Frank Lucas. In 1995, Lucas represented the 6th District, which included the Alfred P. Murrah federal building.