Crapo Votes to Support Victims Compensation Fund Reauthorization

Statement

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued this statement following Senate passage of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund (VCF):

"I will never forget the events that unfolded the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 (9/11). I was in my first term in the U.S. Senate when news networks first reported that planes had hit the World Trade Towers in New York City. I was in the U.S. Capitol when I learned American Airlines Flight 77 had crashed into the Pentagon, just three miles south of the building in which I had just started a regular day of work and votes. I learned that at 10:03am, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, though the flight had been destined for the building in which I stood.

"The first responders in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville wasted no time in rushing directly toward the flames, confusion and sheer catastrophe of the attacks that day. Many lost their lives as the World Trade Center buildings collapsed. Many others still suffer from 9/11-related illnesses and ailments. On September 11, they were simply doing their job, but became the nation's first warriors in the War on Terrorism. We are forever indebted to the valor and heroism displayed by these firemen, police officers and volunteers who worked tirelessly and selflessly to recover victims from ground zero.

"The sacrifice of the first responders of that day is one I cannot ignore. Truly, we will never forget the lives lost on that dark day, and in the years since. I remain committed to policies at the federal level that will prevent horrors like this from happening again."

Senator Crapo is a co-sponsor of S. 546, the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act. Shortly after 9/11, Congress established the VCF to compensate families of those who died and survivors who suffered disabling injuries during or in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. The legislation passed today would reauthorize the VCF through 2090, and require VCF policies and procedures to be reassessed at least once every five years. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on July 12, 2019, and it now heads to the White House for President Trump's signature.

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