Officials urge passage of 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund extension: ‘Time for America to respond to the call’ – By Karen Xia and Cathy Burke (New York Daily News) / June 9 2019
Their heroism on 9/11 should not be forgotten.
More than a half-dozen Capitol Hill lawmakers, including New York’s Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn Maloney, joined members of the Uniformed Firefighters Association to support a bipartisan effort to extend the Victim Compensation Fund until 2090.
Though the ultimate cost of the extension has not yet been determined, the lives at stake are invaluable, the lawmakers said.
“That is what the Victims Compensation Fund really is—that we are telling the American people that heroism and American heroism is something we will always value,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The Capitol Hill effort comes in the wake of Victims Compensation Fund Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya’s warning that awards from the fund, which were supposed to last until December 2020, would be cut in half because of an unforeseen — and alarming —rate of first responders and victims reporting illnesses from 9/11 exposure.
Of $7.4 billion appropriated by Congress to cover their medical care, more than $5 billion has already been spent. The only solution—for Congress to pass a new bill—will see its first legislative step Tuesday when the House Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing on it.
According to new data, over 3,700 people have been diagnosed with cancers directly related to 9/11 exposure, UFA President Gerard Fitzgerald said at a press conference Sunday. Since 143 firefighters died on Sept. 11, 2001, 52 more have passed away from 9/11-related health problems.
“Each and every day the terrorists take more lives, but this time, it’s not from a burning building, but the effects thereafter of toxic soup in the air,” Fitzgerald said.
“When America was attacked, New York City first responders took on the call. When New York City’s first responders continue to be attacked inside and out, now it’s time for America to respond to the call.”
Without funding from Congress, many victims can expect to see steep cuts to awards from the VCF, and in some cases, the slashes could potentially wipe out the entire award, officials from the VCF have said.
The bill has cleared significant partisan hurdles in the House, with at least 60 Republicans agreeing to sign on, including the top Republican on the judiciary panel, Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.). Three co-sponsors, Nadler, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), and Maloney, have gained the backing of at least 330 House lawmakers.
On Sunday, Maloney, donning a firefighter’s jacket, vowed to “never give up” until more funding was guaranteed to 9/11 victims, citing the potential to pass the bill in the House on July 4 as a symbolic commitment and celebration.
But she’s also aware of potential partisan pushback on the cost of extending the fund. “The biggest obstacle is always money. If we take something out of the budget, you have to pay for it,” she said.
Nadler, after initially saying he didn’t remember the cost estimate, later insisted it was “impossible” to estimate since some cancers and health concerns arise years later and are difficult to predict.
Fund advocates said cost concerns shouldn’t derail the extension, noting they are obligatory reparations for federal mistakes that left first responders and community residents exposed to the toxic air that swirled around Ground Zero.
So far, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not commented on the bill’s future, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D–N.Y.) expressed concerns regarding the potential for a Senate roadblock.
Critics have accused McConnell of creating a “legislative graveyard” for a slew of proposals that have cleared the lower chamber. Currently, the VCF extension bill has the backing of 34 Senators.
Nadler argued Congress must fulfill its “moral responsibility.”
“We will prevail on this because we must,” he said.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney joined other members of Congress and the United Firefighters Association to push a bipartisan effort to guarantee an extension of the Victim Compensation Fund until 2090. (Karen Xia/New York Daily News)
