Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund
Floor Speech
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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, I rise to join my colleagues in speaking about our 9/11 heroes. I thank Senator Schumer for his extraordinary leadership, his unwavering support, his dedication to taking this across the finish line, and his unbelievable willingness to lift up the voices of people who were not being listened to. Thank you to Senator Schumer.
I want to first note that while we are debating this bill, there is a wake happening on Staten Island right now for Detective Christopher Cranston. A father of 5, he was only 48 years old, but he will be buried on Thursday because of the months of work he did on the pile at Ground Zero at Fresh Kills Landfill. He spent his 20th anniversary just a few weeks ago in chemotherapy.
The eyes of the Nation are looking at this Chamber today to see if we finally will stand by our 9/11 heroes for the rest of their lives. In a few minutes, heroes such as James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Lou Alvarez will have their names etched into the history books forever, which is where they belong.
Their families are in the Gallery today--here again, walking the halls of this Chamber and this Congress to be heard, here again to ask one more time that this body do what is right: to stand by them in their gravest time of need. Their families are here today to watch whether this Chamber will do what is right. They are standing here with so many others in the 9/11 community who have fought so hard to demand that Congress do the right thing.
Let's honor their service today. Let's actually honor their commitment to coming here time and time again, not for themselves but for their brothers and sisters who are sick, who are still dying all across this country. Seven are dying a week. Let's honor the ultimate sacrifice they paid for responding to the call of duty when the Nation needed them most. Responders came from every State across this country.
Last week, we lost Richard Driscoll, the 200th FDNY firefighter to succumb to a 9/11 illness. More police officers have died since 9/11 than on 9/11. More than 10,000 people have been certified with a 9/11- related cancer, with more being diagnosed every day. More will get sick. More will die. Some of them will not be diagnosed for years. That includes responders, and it includes the residents, teachers, and students who stayed downtown because the government told them the air was safe. They told them it was safe to breathe, even though it was not.
This bill will not change any of that, but we can finally let the people in the Gallery, who are sitting here watching us today and witnessing this, go home knowing that the government will truly never forget. We owe them that promise. Today, we have the opportunity to let them get back to their lives, to be with their families, and to exhale. They at least deserve that.
I thank Senator Gardner for his leadership on this bill. I thank Senator McConnell for staying true to his commitment. As I said earlier, I thank Senator Schumer for being a tremendous advocate, leader, and partner who never, ever, gave up. And I thank every single person who has spent their time and energy coming here again and again over these many years to advocate for this bill and for their brothers and sisters.
I ask every Senator to have empathy--just that bit of care for someone else--to vote yes on this bill and stand by our first responders. I also urge every colleague of mine to reject the amendments that are being put forward.
First is the amendment from my colleague from Utah. Unfortunately, this amendment would accomplish only one thing. It would make these first responders have to go through this entire process again in just a few years. It would force sick and dying police officers, firefighters, and other 9/11 first responders to waste even more of their precious time coming here, away from their families, away from their loved ones, away from their cancer treatments, away from their last moments in their homes and communities, traveling back and forth to Washington and lobbying Congress to pass the bill for the fourth time. Do not fall into this trap.
Our 9/11 heroes deserve this program as it is written in the bill, without these amendments, which will only force them to have to come back here again and again. Stand up for our heroes. End the games. Let's reject this amendment, pass the bill, and let our heroes go home and live in peace, where they can breathe and finally exhale.
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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, after this vote, the people in the Gallery above us, these brave men and women who have suffered unbelievably, will not have to come here again.
This should never have been a fight. It should never have taken this long to pass this bill and make it permanent. It should never have been a question. But now, finally, we have the chance to get this job done for our 9/11 heroes once and for all--our firefighters, our police officers, our EMTs, our construction workers, our survivors, our families who stayed in their homes at Ground Zero because EPA told them the air was safe.
This bill is a signal from our Nation, from this body, from Congress, that we are representing people in all 50 States and that the Senate will live up to the words it has said over and over again, ``never forget''--that we will never forget our 9/11 heroes and that we will never stop helping them when they are in need.
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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. We will pass this bill for them, once and for all, so they can get back home where they belong.
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