Sherrill Votes to Ensure Care for September 11th First Responders and Victims

House Passes Permanent September 11th Victim Compensation Fund with Overwhelming Bipartisan Support

Washington, DC – Today, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) voted to make the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund permanent to ensure care for 9/11 first responders and victims. With overwhelming bipartisan support, the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act (H.R. 1327) passed the House of Representatives. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund faces 19,000 unpaid claims, and as the funds run out, benefits to first responders and survivors would drop up to 70 percent.

“I was in the Navy when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked and Flight 93 went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I remember the selflessness of our first responders, including brave New Jerseyans, who were there when our country needed them most,” said Representative Sherrill.

“I promised firefighters in my community who suffer from cancer and respiratory illness related to exposure to toxins at Ground Zero that the House would be there for them. I am proud that today we came together to make the Victim Compensation Fund permanent. We have a duty to care for these heroes. It is critical the Senate takes up this bill and sends it to the president’s desk.”

Representative Sherrill is an original co-sponsor of the Never Forget the Heroes Act. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund assists those who volunteered, lived, worked, went to school, or spent time in the affected areas after September 11, 2001, and need care for illness resulting from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero. Today, 7,920 September 11th first responders and survivors live in New Jersey.

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