Congressman Eliot Engel last week delivered remarks on the House floor in support of permanent reauthorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
“We all remember where we were on that fateful day of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001,” he said. “Today, we finally make permanent our nation’s commitment to care for the heroes of 9/11 and their families… We all know that within the first few seconds of this horrific attack on the World Trade Center, our brave first responders rushed toward the wreckage to help their fellow Americans, And as we said before, many of the 9/11 first responders and the survivors are now living with serious illnesses due to toxic pollutants that filled the air at ground zero. Many of those friends and advocates are no longer with us.
“Congress created the Victim Compensation Fund in 2001, which committed to those Americans and their families that we will take care of those who rushed to the scene. I was proud to be an original cosponsor of the initial bill and its subsequent reauthorizations in 2010 and 2015. Well, today, H.R. 1327 keeps Congress’ promise to our 9/11 responders and survivors.”
Engel said he has never seen the New York delegation work so well together. “I want to thank the hard work of Mr. Nadler, Mr. Maloney, and all the people for their leadership on this and we hope it gets passed soon in the other body,” he said.
