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35 Senators Sponsor Never Forget the Heroes Act

May 9, 2019
House of Representatives Chamber in the United States Capitol
HomeBlog35 Senators Sponsor Never Forget the Heroes Act

On February 25, 2019, a group of 21 bipartisan House Representatives served as introductory co-sponsors of the Never Forget the Heroes Act. Since that day, 14 additional Senators have agreed to sponsor the Never Forget the Heroes Act, bringing the total to 35- a number that will hopefully increase as time goes on. Historically, convincing Senators to support 9/11 health and compensation benefits for responders and survivors has been difficult. However, we are hopeful that in due time, at least a simple majority of 51 Senators will support the Never Forget the Heroes Act.

Two version of the bill are currently pending in Congress- H.R. 1327 in the House and S.546 in the Senate. For the Never Forget the Heroes Act to pass, we need a simple majority of votes in each chamber of congress, and the President’s signature. With 35 Senate co-sponsors, we need 16 more to reach a simple majority.

The Never Forget the Heroes Act has been introduced to rescue the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (9/11 VCF) from running out of money and time. The 9/11 VCF is currently in crisis since February 15, 2019 when Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya announced devastating 50 to 70% cuts in compensation to 9/11 responders and victims.

In addition to running out of money, the 9/11 VCF is due to expire on December 18, 2020. In 2015, when the 9/11 VCF was reauthorized, legislators thought the 9/11 cancer plague would be over by December 18, 2020. We now know that due to latency periods, the 9/11 cancer rate is actually skyrocketing with a 3800% increase in just five years with over 10,000 total diagnoses.

The overwhelming support for the Never Forget the Heroes Act in the House has reinforced the fact that the 9/11 health crisis is not a New York problem – it is an American problem and a national epidemic. 9/11 victims reside in all fifty states and in 434 out of 435 Congressional districts. Now, we need the same level of support in the Senate.