Hillary Clinton Reacts To Sept. 11

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., former first lady, joins The Early Show to discuss the events of Sept. 11 and to talk about how Congress has responded to the attacks.

Last October, Clinton introduced the Protecting America's Children Against Terrorism Act which is designed to prepare and protect children in the event of future terrorist attacks.

The legislation intends to secure a social services infrastructure to assist children and families in times of crisis, providing immediate support for children who lose their parent, or parents, in a terrorist attack. It aims to ensure that the mental health needs of children, parents and teachers in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks are met.

The act that Clinton proposed would direct the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to immediately establish a National Task Force on Children and Terrorism.

The Task Force would be directed to assess the preparedness of our health system and make recommendations on a national health care protocol for mass casualties of children and youth resulting from bio-terrorism.

This Task Force would be composed of national child health experts on infectious disease, environmental health, and toxicology; representatives of major children's health organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Children's Hospitals; and other federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control, FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Clinton devoted some time to the plight of women's rights in Afghanistan during her tenure as First Lady and she believes that it is important to incorporate women into a post-Taliban government.