 No other duties are specified, and laureates are not required to compose for government events or in praise of government officials.However, after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, the then–Poet Laureate, Billy Collins, was asked to write a poem to be read in front of a special joint session of Congress.Collins wrote "The Names" which he read on September 6, 2002, which is available in streaming audio and video.