The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
State responders await Senate vote to continue victims’ fund
WEST HAVEN — When two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers, Jersey City firefighter John A. Alston Jr. rushed to the wreckage that would soon be known as Ground Zero.
On that fateful day, 18 years ago, Alston was assigned to a rescue company. Like thousands of first responders, he voluntarily returned again and again to the tragic scene of steel and ash to sift through the debris.
Now chief of the New Haven Fire Department, Alston is one of at least 812 Connecticut residents registered with the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, an account created by the federal government that awards money to individuals or their families who died, were injured or sickened from the terrorist attack and its aftermath.
Alston is registered with the fund, so he can claim assistance in the future if he falls ill, like so many aging first responders who have been diagnosed with cancer and other diseases linked to their exposure to toxins on “the pile” at Ground Zero. But Alston’s ability to get funding — and the amount he might receive — is likely to be determined by legislation now awaiting a vote by the U.S. Senate.
On Friday, in a bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation to add billions of dollars to the dwindling compensation fund and extend the program, which was scheduled to stop taking claims in December 2020, for seven decades.
“This vital fund honors the brave men and women who came to our rescue on one of our darkest days,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, a cosponsor of the bill, on Friday. “These heroes need our help right now.”
The Republicanled U.S. Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on the legislation, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, RKentucky, said Friday his chamber would “consider this important legislation soon.”
At a news conference at the West Haven Fire Station, Blumenthal said, despite McConnell’s comment, votes on such legislation sometimes had a way of “disappearing,” especially with an August recess of Congress nearing.
“It is really about simple justice for first responders who answered the call,” said Blumenthal.
Standing with Blumenthal, Alston recalled Sept. 11 as a day on which he lost many friends. But now, “seen and unseen injuries,” are killing more of them, he said.
“For us to have to continue to ask for support for people who responded on that day just defies reason to me,” he said.
John Dye, a New Haven resident, described the plight of his son Michael Dye, a New York City police officer in 2001, now suffering from brain cancer connected to his exposure at Ground Zero.
“He’s still under treatment and he is just getting his speech back,” said John Dye, an NYPD baseball cap shading his eyes as he stood with the help of a walker. “I can’t afford to pay for it.”
Dye has applied for assistance from the Victim Compensation Fund, like nearly 40,000 other Americans.
emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson