President Trump signed a 9/11 victims’ compensation bill on Monday, saying “the day has come” to ensure health care and other services for first responders and their families.
“We pledge to stand by the families of those affected today and everyday,” he said in a Rose Garden ceremony with first responders, their families and lawmakers at the White House. “Today, we come together as one nation to support our Sept. 11 heroes.”
Mr. Trump signed the bill reauthorizing $10.2 billion over the next 10 years for the compensation fund. The approval in Congress ended weeks of debate over the size of the compensation bill, which helps first responders who developed respiratory and other illnesses from the toxic fumes and ash of the destroyed World Trade Center buildings in Manhattan.
The fund had been depleted to a level where awards were reduced in half while awaiting congressional action.
The president praised the first responders for running into the wreckage on Sept. 11, 2001, saying, “I was down there also, but I’m not considering myself a first responder.”
“You have endured hardship with amazing grace,” he said of the first responders. “You lift up our communities… We love you, we honor you and we thank you. God bless you all.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Democrat, said the measure ensures that “our 9/11 first responders, survivors, and their families can finally have some peace of mind as they continue to fight through their illnesses linked to the 9/11 attacks.”
“We will never forget the sacrifice they made for us, and I am grateful to every single person who helped pass this bill and to President Trump for signing it quickly into law,” she said.
Among the audience of more than 200 was the family of the late NYPD detective Luis Alvarez. He suffered from cancer linked to the attacks, and traveled to Washington with comedian Jon Stewart to make an emotional plea to lawmakers to support the bill before passing away last month.
Mr. Stewart did not attend the signing ceremony.
The president said of the first responders, “They answered terror with the emotional strength of true American warriors. Today, we come together as one nation to support our September 11 heroes, to care for their families, and to renew our eternal vow: Never, ever forget.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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