{"id":35280,"date":"2019-06-14T07:36:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T05:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/?p=35280"},"modified":"2019-06-14T07:45:04","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T05:45:04","slug":"house-panel-votes-to-fully-fund-9-11-victims-compensation-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/2019\/06\/14\/house-panel-votes-to-fully-fund-9-11-victims-compensation-program\/","title":{"rendered":"House panel votes to fully fund 9\/11 victims compensation program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; padding_mobile=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; column_padding_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_post_title admin_label=&#8221;Post Title&#8221; title=&#8221;on&#8221; meta=&#8221;off&#8221; author=&#8221;off&#8221; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_placement=&#8221;background&#8221; parallax_effect=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;light&#8221; text_background=&#8221;on&#8221; text_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.56)&#8221; module_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(255,255,255,0)&#8221; title_all_caps=&#8221;off&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;] [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Retired NYPD Det. Luis Alvarez and former &#8220;Daily Show&#8221; host Jon Stewart at a House hearing Tuesday on the 9\/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Photo Credit: EPA \/ Jim Lo Scalzo<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">\n<h5><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Special note by The Firefly Innovations on the article<\/span>:-<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Well done to<\/strong> Jon Stewart.<\/span><\/span>This\u00a0 what is needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">An outreach that opens the door that there\u00a0 can be a\u00a0 comprehensive approach.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">Via Head-on you can now help<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Therefore we ask for your help.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">Click &amp; learn what happens and<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">how you can join \u201c<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/donate-to-reduce-wildfire-destruction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click learn and donate<\/a>\u201c<\/strong>\u00a0to reduce the wildfire impact.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">\n<h4>and stand a chance to win an $10,000 African Safari for your fires station and<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: right;\">\n<h4><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">\u00a0<strong>for your family<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Tom Brune writes:-<\/p>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer implored Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday to immediately bring the 9\/11 Victims Compensation Fund to the floor for a stand-alone vote once it passes the House this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Schumer went to the Senate floor moments after the House Judiciary Committee, in a show of bipartisan support,\u00a0approved in a voice vote the legislation for fully funding and extending the fund for first responders and others ailing from 9\/11-related illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce this bill passes the House, there will be only one person who stands between the brave first responders now suffering from cancer and illness and the money they need to save or extend their lives, and that one person is Leader McConnell,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/news\/nation\/911-victims-compensation-fund-1.32262857\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><label>RECOMMENDED READING<\/label><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Jon Stewart lashes out at Congress over 9\/11 fund<\/h3>\n<\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am imploring, pleading, even begging to Leader McConnell\u00a0to put the bill on the floor immediately after it passes the House,\u201d Schumer said. \u201cI am imploring, I am pleading, I am begging Leader McConnell to give us a commitment, today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McConnell, who in the past has not allowed a vote on a stand-alone bill for the initial legislation in 2010 or in the five-year extension in 2015 that created what Schumer described as a \u201cpainful\u201d and \u201cdifficult\u201d process, did not respond Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>McConnell\u2019s spokesman, Doug Andres, referred to the majority leader\u2019s comment Tuesday: \u201cWe&#8217;ve always dealt with that in the past in a compassionate way, and I assume we will again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The House committee approved the bill a day after it heard from an ailing former firefighter, a police detective, an FBI agent, a one-time Stuyvesant High School student, and a widow of a construction worker who died last month from a 9\/11-related illness \u2014 followed by a harsh scolding of Congress by former \u201cDaily Show\u201d host Jon Stewart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m happy for the families and for the survivors. The next step is to get it through the Congress,\u201d said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), co-sponsor of the bill with Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).<\/p>\n<p>Maloney predicted Wednesday the vote will pass easily in the House, where she said it has 312 co-sponsors, including 81 Republicans. She said she is pressing for a vote before the \u00a0Fourth of July.<\/p>\n<p>House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) did not set a date, but promised a vote this summer.\u00a0\u201cNow that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HouseJudiciary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@HouseJudiciary<\/a>\u00a0has passed H.R. 1327 to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Renew911VCF?src=hash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Renew911VCF<\/a>, I expect to bring it to the Floor for a vote before the August district work period. First responders who ran into danger that day deserve certainty that they &amp; their families will have the benefits they\u2019ve earned,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>The House will not vote until after it gets the Congressional Budget Office cost estimate and determines a way to pay for it. Any estimate will have to project the number and cost of new cancer diagnoses and deaths over the next 70 years.<\/p>\n<p>The Victim\u00a0Compensation Fund is running out of money and expires on Oct. 1, 2020. In February, Rupa Bhattacharyya, special master of the fund, cut claims submitted on or before Feb. 1, 2019, by 50 percent and those filed after that date by 70 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The bill would allow claims to be filed until October 2089, require VCF policies and procedures to be reassessed at least once every five years, pay back the full amount for those who received reduced awards, remove the cap on noneconomic damages in certain circumstances, and adjust the annual limit on economic loss compensation for inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Schumer said in a phone interview that he believes President Donald Trump would sign the bill if and when both the House and Senate enact it. Trump has not said publicly what he thinks about the legislation or \u00a0whether he would sign it.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), a backer of the legislation, said, \u201cI believe the President would sign the bill and could definitely be the difference maker if there is any Senate holdup. I\u2019d strongly encourage him to do both.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a key sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, joined Schumer by issuing a statement urging McConnell to \u201cput it on the floor for an up-or-down vote without any delay\u201d once the House passes it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Re Blog&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Re Blog from<\/strong><\/span>,:-\u00a0 News Day<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/news\/nation\/911-victims-fund-extension-1.32293697<\/p>\n<div><strong>By Tom Brune<\/strong><a href=\"mailto:tom.brune@newsday.com?subject=House%20panel%20votes%20to%20fully%20fund%209\/11%20victims%20compensation%20program&amp;body=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20Senate%20Minority%20Leader%20Chuck%20Schumer%20implored%20Senate%20Majority%20Leader%20Mitch%20McConnell%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20immediately%20bring%20the%209\/11%20Victims%20Compensation%20Fund%20to%20the%20floor%20for%20a%20stand-alone%20vo%0D%0Ahttps:\/\/www.newsday.com\/news\/nation\/911-victims-fund-extension-1.32293697\">tom.brune@newsday.com<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TomBruneDC\" target=\"blank\"><i class=\"fa fa-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>\u00a0@TomBruneDC<\/a><\/div>\n<p>Tom Brune covers the White House, Congress, the Supreme Court and the federal government from Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, The Firefly Innovations<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=&#8221;Sidebar&#8221; orientation=&#8221;right&#8221; area=&#8221;et_pb_widget_area_3&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; remove_border=&#8221;off&#8221;] [\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Develop your innovation skills<\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">and<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">build a better future\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button admin_label=&#8221;Button&#8221; button_url=&#8221;http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/first-responders-support-blog\/&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;off&#8221; button_text=&#8221;Back to the First-responders blog&#8221; button_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; custom_button=&#8221;on&#8221; button_letter_spacing=&#8221;0&#8243; button_use_icon=&#8221;default&#8221; button_icon_placement=&#8221;right&#8221; button_on_hover=&#8221;on&#8221; button_letter_spacing_hover=&#8221;0&#8243; button_text_size=&#8221;12&#8243;] [\/et_pb_button][et_pb_divider admin_label=&#8221;Divider&#8221; color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; show_divider=&#8221;off&#8221; height=&#8221;60&#8243; divider_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; divider_position=&#8221;top&#8221; hide_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;] [\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Innovations for a better future<\/span><\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #993366; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/?p=30751\">Click for the Innovations\u00a0blog<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=&#8221;Image&#8221; src=&#8221;http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Face.png&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;off&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;off&#8221; use_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221; animation=&#8221;left&#8221; sticky=&#8221;off&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; force_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; always_center_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; url=&#8221;http:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/first-responders-support-blog\/&#8221;] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=&#8221;Sidebar&#8221; orientation=&#8221;right&#8221; area=&#8221;et_pb_widget_area_1&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; remove_border=&#8221;off&#8221;] [\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; padding_mobile=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; column_padding_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_post_title admin_label=&#8221;Post Title&#8221; title=&#8221;on&#8221; meta=&#8221;off&#8221; author=&#8221;off&#8221; date=&#8221;off&#8221; categories=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_placement=&#8221;background&#8221; parallax_effect=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;light&#8221; text_background=&#8221;on&#8221; text_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.56)&#8221; module_bg_color=&#8221;rgba(255,255,255,0)&#8221; title_all_caps=&#8221;off&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;] [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;] Retired NYPD Det. Luis Alvarez and former &#8220;Daily Show&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first-responders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35280"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35284,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35280\/revisions\/35284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefireflyinnovations.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}