Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his kind remarks and for his tremendous leadership.

From the first minutes of the assault on our country, Chairman Nadler was there to meet the needs of our country as we protected, but also to meet the needs of those who rushed in to save lives.

I want to also salute Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who has worn a firefighters jacket through the heat of the summer now, but all spring, until this bill was brought up on the floor. I thank the gentlewoman for not only wearing the jacket, but for her relentless, persistent advocacy on behalf of our 9/11 heroes.

I am so proud that this time this bill is bipartisan, and I thank the distinguished gentleman, Mr. King from New York, for his leadership, for his recognition of the bipartisan nature of what we are doing, what we did then and what we are doing now. I thank the gentleman, Mr. King, for his leadership as well.

H.R. 1327 is the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act--a big name, a tall order, and long overdue.

When we talk about 9/11, we tread on sacred ground. On that dark day, our Nation suffered loss we could never have imagined, and we witnessed heroism that we will never forget.

Because of our heroes, 9/11 is etched in our Nation's history not only as a day of profound loss and tragedy but also a day of powerful unity and resilience. On September 11 and in its aftermath, our brave first responders were there for us. We must always be there for them.

The Never Forget the Heroes Act takes long-overdue action to provide the financial security and support that 9/11 heroes, survivors, and families deserve. Today, we are honored to take this action to ensure that all people suffering from illnesses related to 9/11 or by the debris removal and cleanup efforts in their aftermath and their families get the full awards they have been promised.

It is critically important that we restore the compensation to those hit by drastic, unfair cuts and ensure that their claims will be fully paid in the future.

One of the reasons that we have to have this additional legislation is because there are so many more diagnoses of cancer and the rest that followed.

This bill honors the heroes after which it is named, James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez. Those heroes showed courage beyond measure not only by running toward danger that day but by giving their last days to fight for all harmed on 9/11.

We are blessed by the presence of members of their families and other advocates, including first responders suffering from 9/11-related illnesses, here in the Capitol today. They have done the outside organizing as we did the inside maneuvering. They have made the complete difference.

I thank Jon Stewart for raising the profile of this issue so that when we pass the bill here today, it will be received positively by the United States Senate.

Two weeks ago, as we all know, America lost Luis Alvarez, an NYPD detective and advocate who died from 9/11-related cancer. It was a holy moment for us when he testified before Congress last month before he was scheduled to receive his 69th round of chemotherapy. He said then to Congress: ``You all said you would never forget. Well, I'm here to make sure that you don't.''

With this bill, we honor the sacrifice of Luis and many other heroes and say: We will never forget.

Madam Speaker, I urge a strong, overwhelming, bipartisan vote for this bill for our responders, survivors, and their families and do so with eternal gratitude to them for what they have done. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

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