US: House Judiciary Committee unanimously passes 9/11 victims fund bill

June 13, 2019:

On Wednesday, the bill that permanently authorizes the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund passed out of the House Judiciary Committee unanimously.

The move comes a day after former “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart shamed members of a Judiciary subcommittee, as only Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and four subcommittee members were present for testimony from 9/11 first responders.

They included Luis Alvarez, a retired NYPD detective who was about to begin his 69th round of chemotherapy for liver cancer. There are 14 members of the subcommittee.

“It’s an embarrassment to the country and a stain on the institution and you should be ashamed of yourselves, for those who aren’t here, but you won’t be because accountability doesn’t appear to be something that occurs in this chamber,” Stewart said Tuesday.

At the full committee markup Wednesday, a handful of lawmakers were absent, but Nadler dismissed calls to make the committee vote a roll call vote.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), will likely need to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office before it can get a full vote in the House, but is expected to pass, as the legislation has 313 bipartisan co-sponsors.

“I personally am calling for a vote before July Fourth,” Maloney said. Maloney said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has “committed to passing the bill,” but hasn’t set a deadline.

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