The Senate next week will vote on legislation to permanently authorize a Sept. 11 victims compensation fund following weeks of intense lobbying from first responders and an impassioned plea from comedian Jon Stewart.
The House passed the bill last week and is poised to easily pass the Senate.
Senate Democrats attempted to quickly clear the House bill in the Senate on Wednesday by voice vote, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, objected, calling for the measure to require more congressional oversight.
The measure provides compensation for economic losses experienced by those sickened in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The bill would ensure federal funding through 2090 and would cost more than $10 billion in the first decade.
The legislation does not call for raising revenue or cutting, so it would add to the deficit.
Paul said he’ll offer an amendment requiring offsets.
“It has long been my feeling that we need to address our massive debt in the country,” Paul said.
Lawmakers have been under intense pressure to pass the measure.
In February, the fund’s special master announced the fund was nearly depleted and victim compensation would have to be slashed by up to 70%.
The fund pays for lost wages and other financial losses experienced by first responders sickened from cleaning up after the terror strike at ground zero as well as those sickened after returning to the neighborhoods and offices still impacted by dangerous air quality.
Thousands of illnesses have sprung from the aftermath of the terror attack and cleanup, particularly cancer, which will make up more than 60% of the sickness-related losses addressed by the fund in the coming years.
