Susan Collins (R-ME) has once again agreed to support 9/11 victims. Senator Collins voted for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, sponsored its 2015 reauthorization, and now sponsors the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Act (S. 546) (“Never Forget the Heroes Act“). Senator Collins joins Republican Senators Senator Blunt joins Republican Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Jerry Moran (R-KS).
The goals of the Never Forget the Heroes Act are to:
- Permanently fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (9/11 VCF)
- Extend the deadline beyond 2020 to 2090
- Roll back the recently announced 50 to 70% compensation cuts
- Pay claimants in full if they received awards that were cut due to the funding crisis
- Return to paying claimants in full
So far, thirty U.S. Senators have agreed to sponsor the Never Forget the Heroes Act. Of those thirty senators, only six are Republican. Senator Moran’s support stands out as one of only six out of forty-six Senate Republicans to sponsor the Never Forget the Heroes Act.
Of the seventy Senators who have not yet agreed to sponsor the Never Forget the Heroes Act, forty-six are Republicans and twenty-four are Democrats.
Senator Collin’s legislative advocacy on behalf 9/11 victims is notable in light of the relatively small number of victims in Maine which is home to approximately seventy confirmed 9/11 victims. Senators from states which much larger populations of confirmed 9/11 victims have not yet agreed to sponsor the Never Forget the Heroes Act. Below is a list of Senators from states with a large constituency of confirmed 9/11 victims who have not yet agreed to sponsor the Never Forget the Heroes Act. (The number listed next to each name is approximate total number of 9/11 victims.)
- Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL); 4,000
- Patrick Toomey (R-PA); 1,500 [Note- Ron Wyden (D-PA) is a sponsor]
- Richard Burr (R-NC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC); 1,000
- Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA); 800
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); 700 [Note- Kamala Harris (D-CA) is a sponsor]
- Tim Scott (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC); 600
- Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA); 500
- Gary Peters (D-MI) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI); 100
- Mike Braun (R-IN) and Todd Young (R-IN); 111
