U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) on Sept. 11 offered bipartisan legislation that would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse public employee retirement systems for accidental disability retirements and accidental deaths resulting from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
“The ramifications of 9/11 have reverberated far beyond what anyone initially anticipated. We lost nearly 3,000 Americans that day, but no one knew that we’d lose thousands more in the aftermath to 9/11-related illnesses,” Rep. Garbarino said on Wednesday. “It’s an unimaginable truth and one that only amplifies the horror of these attacks. Now that this is our reality, we must take action to ensure our brave first responders are taken care of.”
The congressman sponsored the Continued Costs of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks Act, H.R. 9539, alongside 19 original New York cosponsors from both sides of the aisles, including lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
After not initially recognizing the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, FEMA reimbursed the state and city pension systems for $290 million, based on the disaster declarations made by former President George W. Bush for unanticipated costs of the pension-linked death benefits for the 343 members of the New York City Fire Department and the 28 active-duty and retired New York Police Department officers killed that day.
If enacted, H.R. 9539 would allow FEMA to reimburse the state and city pension systems for the loss in pension payments due to the unanticipated deaths of those who responded to the terrorist attacks and who participated in the clean-up in the weeks following the attacks, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Garbarino’s staff.
“The Continued Costs of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks Act will reimburse New York State and City pension systems and ensure the families of our heroes are able to receive the pensions earned by their loved ones,” said Rep. Garbarino.
Rep. Nadler added that “the families of these heroes [must] continue to receive the benefits that they deserve.”