Gardner, New York lawmakers push for newly named permanent 9/11 funding measure

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) this week joined a bipartisan, bicameral contingent of New York lawmakers to announce a name change for their existing bill to make the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) permanent.

Sen. Gardner and his colleagues propose renaming S. 546 and H.R. 1327 to the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.

“Luis Alvarez, James Zadroga, and Ray Pfeifer gave everything for this country by responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and it is unacceptable for this Congress to fail these heroes and their families,” Sen. Gardner said. “After all they have done for us, our nation cannot and will not turn its back on them. It’s time for Congress to do its job and fully fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.”

Sen. Gardner is the lead among 70 other cosponsors of the currently named Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act, S. 546, sponsored on Feb. 25 by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to fund the VCF through fiscal year 2090, among other provisions.

The same-named H.R. 1327, also unveiled on Feb. 25, was introduced by U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Peter King (R-NY) and has 332 cosponsors.

The proposal would permanently fund the VCF, which is experiencing a funding shortfall and must reduce payments for pending and future claims, according to a February decision by the Special Master of the September 11th VCF.

Additionally, Sen. Gardner and his colleagues now want to rename the bill to add 9/11 first responders Luis Alvarez and Ray Pfeifer to the bill’s title alongside New York Police Department (NYPD) Detective James Zadroga.

Zadroga died from cancer linked to his time at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Alvarez, also an NYPD detective, and Pfeifer, a New York City firefighter, for years before their deaths advocated on Capitol Hill to make the 9/11 VCF bill permanent.