A day after Jon Stewart blasted Congress for their failure to support 9/11 first responders, the full House Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to pass a bill extending the 9/11 compensation fund.
After Jon Stewart’s speech, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to extend the 9/11 fund
The Never Forget the Heroes Act would extend the fund through 2090.
The Never Forget the Heroes Act will extend the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund through 2090. The fund was first created in 2001 to support those who were injured or killed in the terrorist attack or while removing debris. The fund was renewed in 2011 and 2015 but is currently set to stop receiving claims after December 18, 2020. Congress has appropriated about $7.4 billion to the fund, according to the New York Times.
Right now, the fund is in trouble: It is near depletion, since $5 billion out of the $7.3 billion fund has already been paid out to 21,000 claimants, according to NPR. And there are still 19,000 additional claims to address. In February, the fund’s Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya said the fund faces a difficult future and “must make significant reductions in awards.”
Stewart and several sick 9/11 first responders went to Congress on Tuesday to ask for another extension. Stewart, the former “The Daily Show” host and longtime advocate for first responders, criticized Congress for their “callous indifference” and lack of action.
In an impassioned speech, he pointed to the empty committee seats as evidence — although the vacancies are partially due to the fact that the hearing was held in front of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, not the full committee.
The Never Forget the Heroes Act will now go to the full House for a vote, and with 312 cosponsors, it will almost certainly easily pass. The bill’s future in the Senate is a bit less clear. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that he wasn’t aware of the new legislative move to extend the compensation fund but was prepared to address the issue in a “compassionate way,” according to Newsweek.
McConnell blocked a permanent fund and held up a revised five-year renewal in 2015. After mounting criticism, the bill managed to pass after last-minute negotiations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, according to NBC News, said he is ready to get the bill passed in a speedy manner: “I am imploring, pleading and even begging to Leader McConnell to put this bill on the floor as soon as it passes the House.”
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