[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 159 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8351-H8354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  1145
                     FAIRNESS FOR 9/11 FAMILIES ACT

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1404, I call up 
the bill (H.R. 8987) to amend the Justice for United States Victims of 
State Sponsored Terrorism Act to authorize appropriations for catch-up 
payments from the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism 
Fund, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1404, an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules 
Committee Print 117-68 is adopted, and the bill, as amended, is 
considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 8987

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness for 9/11 Families 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 404(d)(4)(C) of the Justice for 
     United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act (34 
     U.S.C. 20144(d)(4)(C)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(iv) Authorization.--

       ``(I) In general.--The Special Master shall authorize lump 
     sum catch-up payments in amounts equal to the amounts 
     described in subclauses (I), (II), and (III) of clause (iii).
       ``(II) Appropriations.--

       ``(aa) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
     and there are appropriated to the Fund such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this clause, to remain available until 
     expended.
       ``(bb) Limitation.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to item 
     (aa) may not be used for a purpose other than to make lump 
     sum catch-up payments under this clause.''.
       (b) Rescission.--Of the unobligated balances of amounts 
     made available under the heading ``Small Business 
     Administration--Business Loans Program Account, CARES Act'', 
     for carrying out paragraphs (36) and (37) of section 7(a) of 
     the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)), $2,982,000,000 are 
     hereby rescinded.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees.
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) and the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Jordan) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).


                             General Leave

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on H.R. 8987.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Fairness for 9/11 Families Act would provide a 
catch-up payment to thousands of 9/11 victims, spouses, and dependents 
who were unfairly excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored 
Terrorism Fund when it was first established in 2015.
  While no amount of money can ever make up for the incalculable loss 
that they suffered on September 11, this legislation would ensure that 
they are fairly compensated for their claims against those responsible 
for one of our Nation's darkest days.
  In 2015, Congress created the United States Victims of State 
Sponsored Terrorism Fund to provide compensation for individuals with 
terrorism judgments against designated state sponsors of terrorism.
  At the time, those who had received payments from the September 11th 
Victim Compensation Fund--primarily victims, spouses, and children--
were precluded from receiving funds from the VSSTF.
  Their exclusion from the fund led to a perverse result by which other 
family members who were not eligible for payments under the VCF could 
receive compensation from the VSSTF--in some cases, substantially more 
than what was paid out under the VCF--while victims, spouses, and 
children were excluded from the fund, despite also having claims.
  Congress corrected this injustice in 2019, and a year later it tasked 
the Government Accountability Office with calculating a lump-sum catch-
up payment that would bring those who initially had been wrongly 
excluded from the VSSTF into parity with those individuals who had been 
included in the fund when it was first created.
  The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act fully funds these catch-up 
payments, offset by funds no longer needed to implement the Paycheck 
Protection Program. I thank Senators Menendez and Schumer for their 
partnership on this legislation and for all of their efforts to provide 
justice and support to 9/11 families over the years.
  I also thank the many victims and family members whose advocacy and 
determination were essential to bringing this legislation forward. 
Although nothing can make up for 20 years of missed birthdays, 
anniversaries, and memories for those who lost loved ones on September 
11, I hope that these funds can provide some measure of comfort and 
justice to the people whose lives were changed forever that day.
  As we pass this legislation, we must not forget the survivors and 
first responders who continue to suffer the health effects of the 9/11 
attacks. As I always have, I will continue to fight to ensure that 
these people have the care they need. We can, and we must, look after 
everyone who was affected that fateful day.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the Fairness for 9/11 
Families Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the families of the 9/11 victims have our deepest 
sympathies. They have spent the last 20 years seeking justice through a 
maze of red tape.
  Due to errors made with how funds to compensate victims were 
structured, a disparity emerged between the compensation received by 
differently situated 9/11 families. This legislation would help remedy 
that inequity.
  Behind the scenes, we have been working to solve this problem for 
years. Unfortunately, the Democrats have not been particularly 
interested. During the last few years of trying to resolve this matter, 
the Judiciary Committee has not held a single hearing or markup to 
evaluate the problems with victims funds or how to best address the 
problem.
  In fact, according to a GAO study required by Congress, the shortfall 
owed to 9/11 families amounts to $2.7 billion. The proposal before us 
takes from COVID relief money that Congress appropriated for small 
businesses to make 9/11 families whole.
  There are potential solutions to this problem that we should have put 
forward earlier. Unfortunately, because Chairman Nadler has declined to 
allow the Judiciary Committee to consider these other possibilities, we 
are left with just the bill before us today.
  I do think it is important to recognize that we are here today thanks 
to the hard work of the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis) and 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). I know Congresswoman 
Malliotakis and Congressman Smith have been working tirelessly on this 
during this entire Congress. It would have been nice to have their bill 
before our committee for some debate. We never would have gotten to a 
place of finding a solution for these victims without their tireless 
efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote and reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Nadler) for work that is long overdue, and the Senators in the 
other body, as well.
  I lived through 9/11, as many of us who have served in this Congress 
did. I lived through the terror, the horror, the horrific scenes that 
were unspeakable and unbelievable. I lived through them with the same 
sense of this could not be America.

  I was in this building as the planes hit the Pentagon. We did not get 
the direct information about the World Trade Center, but as we were 
screamed at to get out and flee, as we ran without knowledge, I could 
see the billowing smoke, as the plane had already hit the Pentagon.
  Never in our lives since World War II and Pearl Harbor had I seen or 
heard about, if you will, such atrocities and

[[Page H8352]]

violence. Imagine those families, never being able to bury their loved 
ones.
  I went to Ground Zero by train because at that time planes were not 
in the air. I was insistent, as a member of the beginning of the 
Homeland Security Committee, to go there with a former Senator. We went 
to the very site.
  No, there was no rescuing at that time; it was recovering.
  We saw those fire department personnel, firemen, and law enforcement 
guarding this sacred place. Those firepersons would get a whistle blown 
when someone who had been digging found the remnants of a body, pieces 
of bones, and because they wanted to honor those families, they would 
blow the whistle and a gurney would come, and they would put what they 
found on the gurney.
  That is what this bill is all about. It is to be able to say that 
families have suffered unconscionably, and that due to their own 
government withholding payments due to them and only incrementally 
dribbling them out in small amounts over the years, the families have 
faced financial hardship.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from Texas.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this would provide financial relief for 
the families of those murdered by the terrorists by helping to put more 
dollars in this victims' fund, more so than the Victim Compensation 
Fund, to provide them with catch-up payments that they did not get. 
That is important to do.
  Mr. Speaker, might I say that I visited with the Uvalde families this 
past Monday. Their pain is deep, and it is the same. They don't have a 
handle on these compensation funds. They are suffering. And as this has 
evidenced, that you must always ease the suffering of those who you 
cannot replace their loved ones, I look forward to working with the 
chairman on helping these Uvalde families in their suffering.
  I support this legislation. I thank the chairman, and I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 8987.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support 
H.R. 8987, the ``Fairness for 9/11 Families Act''.
  I commend my colleague and friend, Chairman Jerry Nadler, for 
introducing this bill and bringing it before the House today.
  This legislation provides us the opportunity to ``do right'' for the 
families who suffered directly from the heinous acts and carnage 
perpetrated on our nation on September 11th, 2001.
  H.R. 8987 would provide financial relief to the families of those 
murdered by terrorists on September 11th by providing lump sum catch-up 
payments to them of the funds to which they are entitled from the 
United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
  When the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund was created, it 
did not allow for payments to families who already received some 
payments from the Victims Compensation Fund, even though they were 
clearly within the scope of the new fund.
  This error was corrected later, but the families still have not 
received the catch-up payments to which they were entitled to provide 
them the financial assistance that they would have received if the 
initial error had not been made.
  This legislation would provide them with lump-sum payments to 
immediately correct that injustice.
  Needless to say, these families have suffered enough, and it 
unconscionable that they should be subjected to further suffering due 
to their own government withholding payments due to them, and only 
incrementally dribbling them out in small amounts over many years.
  The families have faced financial hardship since that day, partly due 
to the loss of their loved one's income, and just as directly, by the 
inability to focus on employment while coping with their loss of a 
loved one through that unspeakable national tragedy.
  The events of September 11th were among the most horrifying, 
frightening, and shocking that I have ever endured. That day, I was at 
the Capitol and experienced the frantic panic of being rushed off of 
the Capitol grounds when we feared that Flight 93 was aiming toward us.
  And yet, my experience that day was incidental and transitory 
compared to the life-altering devastation that was felt that day and 
every day since then by the families of those who were killed in the 
airplanes and in the buildings that were struck.
  Any time a loved one is abruptly and unforeseeably killed by violence 
or an accident, their surviving family members are devastated and 
debilitated, with a lengthy adjustment period that sometimes is never 
resolved.
  In the case of the 9/11 victims and families, the aftermath of grief, 
mourning, and incapacity was protracted and compounded.
  This was initially due to the uniquely heinous and horrible 
circumstances of 9/11, and thereafter due to the annual national 
memorials and the ubiquitous reminders of the tragedy that is embedded 
in the national consciousness.
  These families are forever intertwined with the grief, sadness, and 
despondency associated with those acts of warfare against the United 
States. Thus, it is our responsibility, as the Congress of their United 
States, to prioritize their needs, revitalization, and compensation 
since, in effect, their loved ones were lost in an act of war by enemy 
combatants.
  Although we can never sufficiently compensate the families for the 
loss of their loved ones, we must do all we can to support them and 
help them reclaim their productive lives.
  It is not too much to ask--indeed, it is the least we can do--to 
ensure that the funds allocated to them be transmitted to them 
immediately to ease their financial burdens and support their pursuit 
of fulfilling lives.
  The catch-up payments that were allocated to the families must be 
distributed to them promptly in lump sum payments for the dual sakes of 
fairness and solidarity with those whose sacrifice is enshrined in our 
national fabric.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who has been representing the 
good folks of his State for over four decades here in the United States 
Congress and who has worked tirelessly on this issue.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Jordan) for his leadership and for his kind words. I thank the 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee for sponsoring this extraordinarily 
important piece of legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, everyone remembers where they were and what they were 
doing--I was in Washington here chairing a Veterans' Affairs Committee 
hearing--when a group of radical jihadists hijacked four airliners to 
perpetrate the worst act of terrorism in American history.
  Today, 21 years later, we remember the horror and pain suffered by 
those who were murdered and the anguish felt by their families and 
friends both then and now.
  On the morning of 9/11, I got a mere glimpse into the sense of horror 
suffered by the victims' families when I couldn't reach my own brother, 
Tom, an American Airlines 757 captain who often piloted Flight 11 from 
Logan to L.A., the flight that crashed into the north tower. After 
several hours, when I finally made contact, he was okay, but he was 
friends with the crew of Flight 11, all who were killed that day.
  I ask my colleagues to strongly support H.R. 8987, the Fairness for 
9/11 Families Act. This legislation addresses a significant shortcoming 
in programs made available to the widows and children of 9/11.
  As I think Members know, in 2015, Congress created the United States 
Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund to provide compensation to 
Americans injured in acts of international state-sponsored terrorism. 
Despite the obvious connection to the 9/11 surviving family members, 
however, a misinterpretation of the law by the fund's special master 
unjustly barred spouses and children of 9/11 from participating in the 
fund.
  In 2021, at the behest of Congress, the GAO conducted an 
investigation and found that 5,364 victims, spouses, and dependents 
were excluded from the fair restitution due to a technicality in the 
administration of the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
  H.R. 8987 provides immediate relief, with a lump-sum catch-up payment 
to the victims' immediate families.
  For two decades, Mr. Speaker, I have worked with the Jersey Girls to 
achieve justice--that is what they call themselves--wonderful, 
wonderful widows who have tried to achieve justice for those who 
committed these horrific crimes and for those who suffered and were 
left behind.
  Because of them, we got the 9/11 Commission. I was the chief 
Republican sponsor of that bill, but that wasn't because of what we did 
here as much as it was because of the work

[[Page H8353]]

that they did in walking the halls and trying to get people to support 
a 9/11 fund.
  I point out to my colleagues that Tom Kean, our former Governor, 
headed that up, along with Lee Hamilton, the distinguished former 
chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. What they produced after 
their hearings became the blueprint to protect America.
  As they noted in their opening statement--and I chaired two hearings 
about implementing the report--what they said was, We are safer but not 
safe, and they prescribed both administrative and legislative actions 
that should be undertaken to protect America.
  I would note that Kathie Wisniewski, who works on my staff, and lost 
her husband, Alan, is with us today, Kristen Breitweiser; Mindy 
Kleinberg; Lorie Van Auken; Kathy Maher and her sons, Joseph and 
Daniel; and the next generation of 9/11 family advocates, including 
Angela Mistrulli and Brett Eagleson, who lost his parents on 9/11, were 
the driving force in achieving this win today, which, again, is a 
modicum of justice for their egregious loss.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Malliotakis, our colleague from Staten 
Island, for her work on this and her bill, as well as the chairman's 
bill, which has a pay-for. I think this is an important, important 
piece of legislation. I hope every Member of the body will support it.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Fairness for 9/11 
Families Act.
  9/11 is a day that left an indelible mark on all of us. We all 
remember where we were. When the towers fell, they took so many 
innocent lives, and the families left suffered irreplaceable loss. This 
bill would provide catch-up payments to 9/11 survivors, spouses, and 
dependents, who were unfairly excluded from the U.S. Victims of State 
Sponsored Terrorism Fund. While no amount of money can make up for 
their loss, this bill would fairly compensate them for their claims 
against those responsible for one of our Nation's darkest days.
  It would provide some relief to people like my constituents: Gail 
Eagleson, who lost her husband, Bruce, on 9/11, and her son, Brett 
Eagleson, who lost his father on 9/11. He was just 15 years old. That 
dark day Bruce saved lives. He was an incredible human being, a devoted 
husband, father, and friend. In helping to save lives, he lost his own.
  Bruce would be proud to know that his son, Brett, has led the charge 
on this fight. I have been so proud to work with him. It is an honor to 
work with him to get this done. He never gave up. The families never 
gave up.
  While we cannot fill the hole in the hearts of these families, we can 
say, We understand your sacrifice, your loss, and make justice work on 
your behalf.
  Mr. Speaker, today, I urge my colleagues to stand with all these 
families. Do the right thing. Support this critical legislation. It is 
so long overdue.

                              {time}  1200

  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis), who has worked so hard on 
this issue this entire Congress.
  Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, although 21 years have passed, the pain 
we experienced on September 11, 2001, when terrorists unleashed deadly 
and calculated destruction across our country has not faded.
  Those that have empty chairs at their dinner tables, the widows, the 
widowers, the children of those that perished in that attack, they are 
still fighting for their entitled compensation under the United States 
Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.
  Frankly, the exclusion of the 5,364 widows and children from this 
fund was an injustice that Congress should have never allowed to 
happen. As a result of their initial exclusion, widows and children 
missed the first two payments from the terrorism fund, creating a 
massive disparity between their restorative justice payments that 
others, including people like Madeline Bergin and Jeanette Schardt from 
my district, who lost their husbands, FDNY firefighters, on that 
dreadful day.
  This bill, which I drafted and introduced on August 5, would catch up 
widows and children to our victims' groups and ensure that moving 
forward they are no longer left out, forgotten, or excluded. This bill 
rights a grave wrong that should have been corrected long ago.
  Today with us earlier was Angela Mistrulli, the head of the 9/11 
Children for Justice, someone who was also affected, a tireless 
advocate for the widows and children and someone who has become a good 
friend to me and my office.
  For nearly 6 months we had been working together on this issue and 
this legislation. Today, I am proud that the work we have done is being 
brought to this floor and that the widows and children are one step 
closer to their entitled compensation.
  I thank Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Jordan, Chris Smith, and my 
other colleague, Kathleen Rice, who made this a bipartisan bill, for 
their support and their help in getting this done.
  President Truman once said, ``It is amazing what you can accomplish 
when you do not care who gets the credit.'' This case is no different.
  So many people have come together from across the political spectrum 
to correct a wrong that should have been done, as I said, years ago. I 
am so proud and honored to have been a part of this process and 
bringing these wonderful people, people who lost so much, some justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge every Member in this Chamber, on both sides of 
the aisle, to vote in support of this legislation.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Fairness for 9/11 
Families Act, another vital step to support our September 11 heroes and 
their families.
  I salute Chairman Nadler for his committed leadership in bringing 
this legislation to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, on September 11, our Nation watched in horror as 
unfathomable acts of terror unfolded on our soil, gripped by an 
unthinkable nightmare.
  For thousands of families, it was only the beginning: Children 
growing up without a mom or dad by their side; missing smiles at dance 
recitals and soccer games; empty seats at graduations and weddings and 
baptisms.
  Yet, in the wake of such harrowing tragedy, these grieving families 
rallied together, channeling their sorrow into solidarity, transforming 
their pain into purpose, mobilizing their agony into advocacy. Some of 
them were very much responsible for us getting a 9/11 Commission, which 
some in Congress had resisted. Without their outside mobilization, it 
would not have happened.
  Congress and the country greatly admire the courage of the survivors 
and families who have come together to make their voices heard.
  In fact, it was my honor to host many of them in the Capitol just 
earlier this month, to listen to their moving stories and learn how we 
can continue to support them.
  This is an injustice, as was described. Moved by their remarkable 
resilience, the House has worked relentlessly over the years to honor 
our solemn promise to the 9/11 families. We passed the Zadroga Act to 
ensure that they could receive help from the September 11th Victim 
Compensation Fund; and we passed the Never Forget the Heroes Act to 
permanently authorize those funds.
  But there is still more to be done to ensure they get every last cent 
they are due. I don't know that any money really makes up for their 
loss; but what they are due, they should receive.
  The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act corrects an outrageous injustice, 
finally delivering the $2.7 billion that these families are owed from 
the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. This 
initiative was established to support Americans devastated by evils of 
international terror, but for years, the wives, husbands, and children 
of those killed on 9/11 were refused assistance from this particular 
fund, even as more distant relatives received compensation.
  Yes, they were getting funds from an earlier fund, but if you got 
money from the earlier fund, you couldn't get

[[Page H8354]]

money from this additional fund. This is about fairness today.
  As Democrats took the majority, we ended this unconscionable 
disparity. Today, we vote to make them whole, delivering the benefits 
they were wrongfully denied. No amount of money can replace those who 
were stolen away, nor restore the memories and moments that could have 
been; but with this legislation, we can further ease two decades of 
anguish, and we can take another step to ensure that justice is done. I 
am so pleased it is being done in a bipartisan way, because at the 
start, that was not the case.

  President Lincoln once cautioned against the ``silent artillery of 
time''--the slow, steady fading of our Nation's collective memory.
  For 21 years, these families have served as a bulwark against that 
silent threat. Here today, let us stand with them and renew our sacred 
promise to never forget.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a resounding and bipartisan ``yes'' and, 
hopefully, a unanimous vote so that we may empower thousands of 
Americans to begin finding the peace that they deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have the floor, I also rise in strong support of 
the continuing resolution to keep government open and working for the 
people. This legislation ensures full government funding through 
December 16, giving appropriators more time to reach bipartisan, 
bicameral agreement on funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year.
  It includes critical funding to support Ukraine, to respond to 
natural disasters, and to advance many additional key priorities.
  I thank Rosa DeLauro, chair of the Committee on Appropriations, for 
her strong values-driven leadership to bring forth this necessary 
legislation. As I always say, as an appropriator myself, left to their 
own devices, the appropriators will find a bipartisan path.
  I thank Rosa for her ongoing work to assemble an omnibus government 
funding package that honors our values as a Nation. That is the next 
step.
  Today, we proceed with this legislation. As we do, war rages on in 
Ukraine. With the legislation we pass today, Congress secures an 
additional $12.3 billion for Ukraine-related priorities, including 
security, economic and humanitarian aid to the historic and heroic 
Ukrainian people.
  This package comes at a pivotal moment as Ukraine's freedom fighters 
work to turn the tide, liberating key cities and repelling Russian 
forces.
  When I traveled to Berlin for the G7 Speakers' Summit earlier this 
month, it was my privilege to hear directly from Ukraine Speaker Ruslan 
Stefanchuk, who offered an invaluable report on the state of the war.
  At those meetings, I reiterated America's unbreakable, unshakeable 
commitment to stand with Ukraine in the fight for democracy. By the 
way, every other Speaker from the G7, they call them heads of 
parliament in some countries, spoke out strongly in favor of democracy 
in Ukraine. So it wasn't just me talking about unbreakable, unshakeable 
commitment, others did, too.
  With this supplemental funding, we take another strong step to honor 
our country's pledge.
  Alongside this critical package for Ukraine, this legislation directs 
significant funding to help American families devastated by disaster. 
We continue to hold all of the families affected by Hurricane Ian in 
our hearts and prayers during this difficult time, but we need money to 
help them.
  The $2 billion more in Community Development Block Grant Disaster 
Recovery funding in this bill will go toward supporting Florida, as 
well as Puerto Rico, Alaska, and other communities hit by catastrophe. 
But, again, we need more.
  We are also allowing FEMA to spend up to its entire year of funding, 
giving the agency access to an additional $18.9 billion from FEMA's 
disaster relief fund to quickly respond to disasters, especially 
appropriate now with Ian; and we will need more.
  Thanks to the leadership of Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez, we 
are sending $2.5 billion to help New Mexicans begin to heal, recover, 
and rebuild after the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire. She and the 
Members from New Mexico were very instrumental in making sure we were 
aware of the disastrous mistake that was made in New Mexico and how we 
need to address it.
  At the same time, thanks to the impassioned advocacy of Congressman 
Bennie Thompson, we secured $20 million in Jackson, Mississippi, which 
is suffering a devastating water emergency. This man-made disaster 
poses a direct threat to public health and demands urgent action.
  Additionally, we are proud that this legislation includes $1 billion 
more for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a vital 
lifeline to help families pay their bills and stay safe in their homes 
this winter.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a package for the people. I urge a 
strong bipartisan ``yes'' on the continuing resolution so that we may 
swiftly send this bill to the President's desk. I hope that we will 
have a unanimous vote on the legislation, Fairness for 9/11 Families to 
support our 9/11 heroes and their families.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, when our Nation was attacked on September 
11, we made a commitment on that terrible day to support the victims 
and their families. The Fairness for 9/11 Families honors that 
commitment.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Suozzi). All time for debate has 
expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 1404, the previous question is ordered 
on the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________