[Politics_Observer]

I am very glad to see that Congress passed this bill for our first responders and the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I appreciate the work of Congress in this case . Looking at the year of the 9/11 terrorist attack, 2001, I remember it like yesterday and where I was at that time. I am so used to years that are in the 20-teens that now when I see 2001 that seems like a long time ago. Yet, I remember that day and year like it was yesterday and it seems like it wasn't too long ago. The ensuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks were some terrible wars. Some dark times during those years (at least for us who had to fight those wars):

The Senate passed a bill 97-2 Tuesday to fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for decades, permanently compensating individuals who were injured during the 2001 terrorist attacks and their aftermath rescuing people and removing debris under hazardous conditions.
The House passed the bill earlier this month and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
Comedian Jon Stewart and surviving first responders including John Feal pushed Congress to pass the extension before rewards diminished and the fund expired in 2020. When it became clear the bill would overwhelmingly pass, a group of first responders and Stewart stood and clapped in the visitor's gallery above the Senate floor.

"For tens of thousands of people that are waiting to hear the outcome of this, my heart bleeds with joy, knowing that so many people are going to get help," Feal told CNN. "Everything we asked for, we got."

Feal said he gave 15 years of his life to the cause and the passage of the bill would change him. "I get to physically and mentally heal," Feal said.
In the face of dwindling resources and a surge in claims, the fund's administrator announced in February that it would need to significantly reduce its awards. Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya said the fund received over 19,000 compensation forms from 2011 to 2016 and almost 20,000 more from 2016 to 2018 in part due to an increased rate of serious illnesses.

The original fund from 2001 to 2004 distributed over $7 billion to compensate the families of over 2,880 people who died on 9/11 and 2,680 individuals who were injured, according to the Justice Department. In 2011, Congress reactivated the fund and in 2015 reauthorized it for another five years, appropriating $7.4 billion to aid thousands more people. The fund was set to stop taking new claims in December 2020.
The new bill would extend the expiration date through 2090 and cost what is deemed necessary.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/23/poli ... index.html

[Sivad]

the 9/11 terrorist attack, 2001, I remember it like yesterday and where I was at that time.

I remember having multiple people ready to fist fight me because I said the WTC has the headquarters of evil incorporated and that those corpocrat MIC bankster fuckers had it coming.

then they were all like 'what about the secretaries and the janitors? did they have it coming too?' I told them that if you work on the freaking Death Star don't try to cry when the people it's been terrorizing blow it up.

9/11 is gay.

[Politics_Observer]

I am very proud of Jon Stewart and John Feal. Very proud of them both for fighting for our 9/11 first responders. Jon Stewart and John Feal are example of TRUE patriots and I am so so proud of them both. I was watching John Feal tear up and get emotional on the news about the passage of this bill and he talked about how first responders and soldiers on the front lines, how he learned we were expendable. He was right. I know the feeling all too well from my time overseas serving in these past wars. But we were doing it for America because we are proud Americans and fighting for our country. Some things are much larger and more important than yourself. Sure am proud of these two great Americans.

They bring me much pride. Our first responders deserve the best. Thank you Jon Stewart and John Feal. Proud of both of you and you are both true American patriots and are both great Americans. You know, as much as I have hated Mitch McConnell in the past, I can say, he surprised me in supporting the passage of this bill. He actually showed some humanity. I sure do appreciate Mitch McConnell's support on this bill. Mitch McConnell might not be perfect but he's still an American and he's still one of us and I am proud that Mitch McConnell, despite the fact I don't agree with a lot of his politics, put politics aside and supported this bill and did the right thing for a change. Thank you Mitch. I might have to stop calling you "Ole Turtle Head" if you keep this up.

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday reauthorizing the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. The vote was 97-2, with only Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) objecting to extending the fund, which offers health care compensation to survivors and first responders, beyond its previously scheduled expiration in 2020. The House of Representatives passed the bill overwhelmingly earlier this month, which means it will now move to President Trump’s desk, where he is expected to make the extension official.

Few people were happier than Jon Stewart, who has long advocated for 9/11 survivors. After the vote was official, he delivered an emotional address, flanked by New York’s two senators, Chuck Schumer (D) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D), as well as a group of first responders who’d joined Stewart in the fight to get Congress to reauthorize the fund. “I think we can all agree that I’m the real hero,” he began to laughs, before getting serious.

“We can never repay all that the 9/11 community has done for our country, but we can stop penalizing them,” he said. “And today is that day that they can exhale. Unfortunately, the pain and suffering of what these heroes continue to go through is going to continue. There have been too many funerals, too many hospices, and these families deserve better. I’m hopeful that today begins the process of being able to heal without the burden of having to advocate.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/p ... ll-862680/