A new bill in the U.S. Senate would reopen the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund and provide long-term care and monitoring to those who are sick from their exposure to toxins on 9/11.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the $12 billion bill Wednesday, with fellow New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg at her side. The first comprehensive 9/11 health bill to ever be introduced in the Senate also has the support of New Jersey’s senators.
The bill is very similar to one that New York’s congressional delegation has already introduced in the House of Representatives.
President Barack Obama’s campaign told Downtown Express last fall that he supported the version of the bill that had previously failed in the House of Representatives. The new Senate bill is similar to that bill, but it reportedly reduces the city’s contribution to no more than $250 million over 10 years, half of what it was in last year’s House version.
Prior to becoming Secretary of State in January, Sen, Hillary Clinton had been looking to modify the bill in a way that could pass the Senate.
U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Peter King, potential rivals of Gilllibrand in next year’s primary and election, along with Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Michael McMahon, joined Gillibrand in Wednesday’s announcement.
