The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Victims of 9/11 continue to suffer
On Tuesday, June 11, Comedian Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, gave emotional testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on the reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Stewart slammed representatives saying it was “shameful” that more of them did not attend this hearing. A little over half of the 14member subcommittee members were present, mostly Democrats.
I support and agree with Jon Stewart shaming Congress. I lost a family member on 9/11 and to have a contingent of 9/11 first responders travel to Washington to beg (yes, beg) for funds to provide necessary financial support for the thousands who suffered serious medical issues, including a spate of cancer diagnoses, after the 2001 attacks and not have all members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties have the decency to attend the meeting is shocking, and as Stewart stated, “it is a stain on this institution. You should be ashamed of yourselves, for those that aren’t here,” he said. “But you won’t be, because accountability doesn’t appear to be something that occurs in this chamber.”
In case you are not as interested in/or have little knowledge of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, here’s a short history:
In 2010 Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (over opposition from some Republicans who balked at its $7 billion price tag). The act was reauthorized in 2015 for 90 years. But a portion of the law — the Victim Compensation Fund — was only funded for five years, through the end of 2020.
In February, the fund’s administrator, Rupa Bhattacharyya, said there was “insufficient funding” to “pay all current and projected claims at the same levels as under current policies and procedures” and said future claims would only be paid a fraction of their prior value. (With payouts being cut as much as 70 percent).
Some 2,974 victims were confirmed to have died in the initial attacks on 9/11. According to Wikipedia, in 2007, the New York City medical examiner’s office began to add people who died of illnesses caused by exposure to dust from the site to the official death toll. The first such victim, a female civil rights lawyer, died from a chronic lung condition in February 2002. In September 2009, the office added a man who died in October 2008, and in 2011, a male accountant who had died in December 2010, raising the number of victims at the World Trade Center site to 2,753, and the overall 9/11 death toll to 2,996.
In August 2013, medical authorities concluded that 1,140 people who worked, lived or studied in Lower Manhattan at the time of the attack have been diagnosed with cancer as a result of “exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.” It has been reported that over 1,400 9/11 rescue workers who responded to the scene in the days and months after the attacks have since died. At least 11 pregnancies were lost as a result of 9/11.
In case you have forgotten the horrific scene that unfolded on 9/11 and the following days and weeks, these first responders were on site and attempting rescues five seconds after the World Trade Center was hit by the first plane. These heroes rushed in disregarding their own safety to attempt rescues. They dug barehanded and without masks when the World Trade Center fell looking for survivors. For months they were on-site clearing debris and attempting to find remains of those lost for those of us praying for closure.
They tried to console us when we showed up with posters and photos looking for loved ones. They held us up when we were bowed by sorrow. They attended funerals of their brothers and sisters; they were true heroes. They didn’t get a medal for winning a golf tournament, or being a dead baseball player, they got sick!
So what is Congress doing in respecting and offering assistance to these heroes? First let’s name names of those members of House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. (Yes, this is a public shaming)
This committee is chaired by Steve Cohen of Tennessee, with Democratic members being Jamie Raskin, Maryland, Jerrold Nadler, New York, Eric Swalwell, California, Mary Gay Scanlon and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, Sylvia R. Garcia, Veronica Escobar, and Sheila Jackson Lee from Texas.
Republicans on this committee are Mike Johnson, Louisiana, Louie Gohmert, Texas, Jim Jordan, Ohio, Guy Reschenthaler, Pennsylvania, Ben Cline, Virginia, and Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota.
According to Rep. Steve Cohen, “All these empty chairs, that’s because it’s for the full committee. It’s not because of disrespect or lack of attention to you,” the Tennessee Democrat said. “My subcommittee, every single member on my side, which is eight of us, have been here today,” Cohen said, adding that other committee members were present in other committee meetings or visiting with constituents.
Wednesday, the day after Jon Stewart gave impassioned testimony in support of the bill in a video that quickly went viral, the House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill which would permanently reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund
The bill now goes to the floor for a full vote in the House of Representatives, where it is likely to pass. It’s unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will take up the bill in the Senate, although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that he was “imploring, pleading, even begging” McConnell to bring the bill to the floor as soon as it passes in the House.
Several members of the New York congressional delegation, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, both Democrats, and GOP Rep. Peter King, have introduced the Never Forget the Heroes Act of 2019 to reauthorize the Victim Compensation Fund. It also has the support of New York’s two senators, Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
In October, 2018, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y , introduced The Never Forget the Heroes Act, which would provide funding for the victim fund through fiscal year 2090. The bill was reintroduced this year, but has since languished in the House.
When asked about the legislation, McConnell sidestepped the issue, saying he would have to look at the bill.
“Why this bill is not unanimous consent is beyond my comprehension,” Stewart admonished. He also lambasted Congress for those that consider the measure a “New York” issue. More of these men and woman are going to get sick and they’re going to die, and I’m awfully tired of hearing this is a ‘New York issue,’” he said. “Al-Qaeda didn’t shout ‘death to Tribeca.’ They attacked America.”
Never forget! Contact your members of Congress and ask them to support the reauthorization, and better yet sign on and support The Never Forget the Heroes Act.
“I’m awfully tired of hearing this is a ‘New York issue.’ Al-Qaeda didn’t shout ‘death to Tribeca.’ They attacked America.”
Jon Stewart, former host of “The Daily Show”