House overwhelmingly approves funding bill for 9/11 victims
Matt BosterViewed: 1059
Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Jul 12 2019 5:16 PM
Today the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill to reauthorize the compensation fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, after comedian Jon Stewart lambasted lawmakers for not moving quickly enough to replenish the critical funding.
It comes as the $7 billion 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund is being depleted and has cut benefit payments by up to 70 percent.
The bill -- which passed in the House 402-12 -- would ensure the fund can pay benefits for 70 years. It now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to call a vote.
“The first responders who rushed into danger on September 11th, 2001 are the very definition of American heroes and patriots," McConnell said Friday. "The Senate has never forgotten the Victim Compensation Fund and we aren’t about to start now. Nothing about our shared goal to provide for these heroes is remotely partisan. We will consider this important legislation soon."
Among the most outspoken supporters of the legislation has been Stewart, who criticized congressional leaders for failing to ensure that the victims' fund, set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, remains funded.
During a press conference on Capitol Hill Friday with lawmakers and 9/11 first responders, Stewart called the House’s passage of the bill the “semi-final” and said the “finals” are in the Senate.
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