[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     9/11 VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, finally, there is something we can vote 
on today at long, long last--the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for 
those brave heroes who rushed to the Towers on 9/11. The light at the 
end of the tunnel of what has been a very long and sometimes very dark 
time is now only a few hours away. We have waited too long to settle 
this matter. Too many people have put up bipartisan roadblocks along 
the road.
  Now we are here, about to exit the tunnel and guarantee once and for 
all that the heroes who rushed to the Towers 18 years ago will no 
longer have to worry about compensation for their families when they 
are gone. These men and women, many of them sick, some of them gravely 
so, will not have to return to Congress anymore to fight for the 
compensation they always should have been given. They will be able to 
go home, tend to their illnesses, their family members, and their 
friends. That is what they always wanted to do--just take care of 
themselves, their families, and their friends who got sick from the 
poisonous stuff that was in the air right after 9/11, when, bravely, 
these men and women rushed to the Towers. That is what we want. We have 
waited too long.
  Now, we are going to have a few amendment votes first, and I warn my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle: If you vote for these 
amendments, you will, at best, delay the bill but, at worst, kill it. 
Neither is a good choice, neither is a palatable choice, and neither is 
an acceptable choice. Let's defeat these amendments. I believe they 
will be defeated. Then, let's pass the bill overwhelmingly.
  This body has come together to help veterans time and again. These 
people are just like veterans, and 9/11 seemed like a war. I was there. 
I was there the next day. I was in Washington the day it happened. In a 
time of war, these brave people selflessly risked their lives and 
rushed to the Towers to defend our freedom, just like our soldiers do 
and just like our armed services do. So we should sign this bill into 
law.
  Now, I will have more to say on the matter before and after the vote, 
about what this means, and thanking the many people, particularly the 
first responders--names like Zadroga, Pfeifer, and Alvarez--who made 
this happen. Until then, let me just say it is hard for me to express 
how much I am looking forward to passing this bill here today.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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