No one will ever forget comedian Jon Stewart’s recent emotional testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, where tore into legislators demanding more funding for 9/11 survivors, and torched those that didn’t even bother to show up to the hearing.
The House is moving forward with the funding, and is expected to unanimously pass the measure. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) says that the senate version of the bill will pass in his chamber.
The House has over 300 co-sponsors of the bill, while the Senate has a mere 42 co-sponsors, but that tally could soon rise.
U.S. Navy veteran and Sen. Rick Scott (R) has just announced that he has signed on as a cosponsor of the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.
Scott says he was in New York City on September 11, 2001 and witnessed the “terror and devastation” that 19 Saudi terrorists inflicted on the U.S.
“I was in New York City on September 11, 2001, and saw the terror and devastation inflicted on our nation, “said Scott “Americans around the world felt this attack. But for the survivors, first responders, and families of the victims, the tragedy continues each and every day…”
The bill funds the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 through 2090, and modifies the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).
Here are the modifications per the congressional record:
- to allow claims to be filed until October 2089,
- to require VCF policies and procedures to be reassessed at least once every five years (currently, at least once annually),
- to require claimants to be paid for the amount by which a claim was reduced on the basis of insufficient funding,
- to remove the cap on noneconomic damages in certain circumstances, and
- to adjust the annual limit on economic loss compensation for inflation.
Read more 9/11 stories here
