Is your Member of Congress Going to Cosponsor the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act?

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For complete lists of all Members of Congress and whether they are planning to be cosponsors of the permanent funding and authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, click the button for the chamber you wish to view above.

Find out if your member of Congress is planning to be a co-sponsor of the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.

Not sure who your representatives are? Type in your home address above, and we will automatically match you with your representative and both of your senators. Or, you can click on the buttons above to browse complete lists of all members of Congress and see who is planning to co-sponsor of the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.

Why you should know if your Member of Congress plans to cosponsor the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act

Congress must pass the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act, to reverse the cuts that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) has announced.

The VCF has announced that because of the lack of funds, it will be cutting the compensation for all pending cases by 50 % and all future cases by 70%.

This is devasting news to the thousands who of sick and injured 9/11 responders and survivors who have been waiting for years to get the help they need and deserve.

Not only will it not have the funds needed to fully pay claims, but the VCF is scheduled to close in December of 2020.

That means if you were a 9/11 responder and you become sick with cancer in January of 2021, you will have nowhere to turn.

We cannot let that happen.

In 2010, after years of delays and facing increasing pressure from 9/11 responders and survivors walking the halls of Congress, Washington finally acted and authorized medical treatment and monitoring as well as economic compensation to those injured at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and the Shanksville crash site for five years.

In 2015, again under pressure from injured and ill 9/11 responders and survivors with overwhelming bipartisan support, Congress passed a new law that made the World Trade Center Health Program permanent so that injured responders and survivors can get the health care that they need. This law also extended the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund for another 5 years.

The cuts in compensation that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is making comes at a time when the number of people coming forward with illnesses and cancers related to their exposure to toxins at Ground Zero grows every day. When every other day, another 9/11 responder or survivor dies from a 9/11 related cancer.

These are the facts today:

The more than 45,000 people who are in the World Trade Center Health Program are suffering from at least one certified 9/11 condition caused by toxins at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and the Shanksville crash site, while a large percentage have multiple conditions.

Chronic diseases like asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and cancer continue to plague those who were exposed to the many toxins and carcinogens on 9/11 and in the weeks and months thereafter.

Over 10,000 of those enrolled in the Health Program have been certified with a 9/11 related cancer, with more being diagnosed every day. Thousands more who have been diagnosed with cancer are only now joining the health program, so these numbers will increase dramatically.

9/11 responders and survivors in the Health Program reside in all 50 states and in 434 out of 435 Congressional districts.

It has taken years of effort to get a handle on the size and scope of the health crisis facing so many. The statistics and information we have now were not available in 2010 when the legislation was first passed, or in 2015 during the reauthorization.

Now that these facts have become known, and we have a better understanding of the number of people that are sick and dying from their 9/11 exposures, it is up to Congress to act.

Congress must provide the funds needed by the VCF so that these potential cuts will not happen—cuts that would impact the lives of those injured and still suffering, as well as the families of those that have died.

Remember: it was the Federal government that said the air was safe to breathe.

It was also the Federal government that refused for years to take responsibility, to do the research and respond to the health crisis that is facing so many.

Given the information we now have on the scope of the health crisis and the potential funding shortfall the VCF faces, it is our hope that Congress will in fact remember 9/11 by providing the needed funds and authorizing a permanent Victim Compensation Fund by passingthe Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.

Here’s how the tool works so that you can call your member of Congress and urge them to join in this effort

Type in your address above and we will look up your Members of Congress and tell you if they:

Are planning to be cosponsors of the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act in 2019?.

If they were in Congress in 2018, whether they cosponsored the Never Forget the Heroes last year.

If they were in Congress in 2015, whether they cosponsored the 2015 renewal.

If they were in Congress in 2010, how they voted on the original Zadroga Act that year.

The number of 9/11 responders and survivors they represent who participate in the WTC Health Program.

The number of injured 9/11 responders and survivors they represent who have filed to be eligible for the Victim Compensation Fund.

Most importantly, if they are have not yet said they will be co-sponsors of the legislation to fully fund and make permanent the VCF , we will tell you what they have said about 9/11 in the past so you can demand they live up to their own words.

We will also give you the phone number to their office in Washington, so you can call and thank them if they cosponsored the bill or let them know that you need them to help 9/11 responders and survivors if they have not.

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