Victim Compensation Fund
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, finally, there is something we can vote on today at long, long last--the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for those brave heroes who rushed to the Towers on 9/11. The light at the end of the tunnel of what has been a very long and sometimes very dark time is now only a few hours away. We have waited too long to settle this matter. Too many people have put up bipartisan roadblocks along the road.
Now we are here, about to exit the tunnel and guarantee once and for all that the heroes who rushed to the Towers 18 years ago will no longer have to worry about compensation for their families when they are gone. These men and women, many of them sick, some of them gravely so, will not have to return to Congress anymore to fight for the compensation they always should have been given. They will be able to go home, tend to their illnesses, their family members, and their friends. That is what they always wanted to do--just take care of themselves, their families, and their friends who got sick from the poisonous stuff that was in the air right after 9/11, when, bravely, these men and women rushed to the Towers. That is what we want. We have waited too long.
Now, we are going to have a few amendment votes first, and I warn my colleagues on both sides of the aisle: If you vote for these amendments, you will, at best, delay the bill but, at worst, kill it. Neither is a good choice, neither is a palatable choice, and neither is an acceptable choice. Let's defeat these amendments. I believe they will be defeated. Then, let's pass the bill overwhelmingly.
This body has come together to help veterans time and again. These people are just like veterans, and 9/11 seemed like a war. I was there. I was there the next day. I was in Washington the day it happened. In a time of war, these brave people selflessly risked their lives and rushed to the Towers to defend our freedom, just like our soldiers do and just like our armed services do. So we should sign this bill into law.
Now, I will have more to say on the matter before and after the vote, about what this means, and thanking the many people, particularly the first responders--names like Zadroga, Pfeifer, and Alvarez--who made this happen. Until then, let me just say it is hard for me to express how much I am looking forward to passing this bill here today.
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