9/11 Victims compensation fund and what you don’t know about it

Inclusions in the Victims compensation fund bill you should hear about. First, this bill compensates victims until 2092. It is not limited to First Responders and crash site workers, “Passersby” now qualify.

I am not a wizard at math but 9/11 occurred in 2001. We are talking 90 years.

In an unheard of action, there are simply no limitations placed on any amount of money to be paid. This boondoggle is not limited to First responders and those who worked the clean up sites even now.

Claims can be filed by responders and survivors affected by the aftermath of 9/11 near the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon site, and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania site. Responders include those who performed rescue or recovery services, volunteers, cleanup workers, construction, and sanitation personnel; while survivors, also known as non-responders, include area residents, workers, students, and passersby. The VCF does not distinguish between responders and survivors (non-responders) when evaluating eligibility and calculating awards.

https://www.vcf.gov/pdf/VCF_InfoSheet.pdf

There is already a program in place which has received no attention and apart from the VCF that already covers healthcare: WTC  Health Program.

New York City Survivors:

Certain groups are eligible for enrollment into the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program if the individual meets all four requirements: activity, location, time period, and hours.

Worked, lived, attended school, child care, or adult day care

September 11, 2001 to January 10, 2002	4 days – 1 day must equal at least 4 hours
September 11, 2001 to July 31, 2002	30 days

or

Present in the dust or dust cloud

NYC Disaster Area

September 11, 2001

Above are several categories listed as well as others.

https://www.cdc.gov/wtc/eligiblegroups.html

Any cancer death by a 9/11 area resident is now prefaced automatically with “9/11 related.”  But what about the inclusion of conditions  “and other health problems.”

Do I want to be a scrooge and deny healthcare due to first responders? No, but I do want to state that almost everyone now involved will die before 2090 of something. That the majority will not be First Responders or Clean Up crews. Up to now, it was heresy to even question what could be deemed to be the so called “cancer related” death. What is the limitation? Illness could be deemed 9/11 related up to and until the time of death.

But this is what we bloggers do. We go where no MSM dares to go.

Take for example the emotionally charged case with Jon Stewart. Luis Alvarez, the retired police officer who along with Jon Stewart appeared before Congress earlier this month to plead his case for more money.

Wrenching. As we were privy to his last words and breath here on earth.

But what did he die of?

He was not diagnosed with colorectal cancer until 2016, but doctors linked to the three months he spent at the destroyed World Trade Center. New York Post

But-

Of cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. It is the third most common cancer in men and in women.

Colorectal cancer is one of the easiest curable cancers if diagnosed early. Of course it requires a preventive colonoscopy which sadly too many fail to do due to its unpleasantness. In 2016 only 67 percent were compliant.

Source: CDC

Now on to Rand Paul, who dared even to question how this unlimited amount of money was going to be paid. Was his ox ever gored:

Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) is catching a lot of flak for demanding that the Senate actually debate an open-ended extension of the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund.

On Wednesday afternoon, Paul objected when Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) attempted to pass the bill by unanimous consent—an expedited process that does not require each senator to record his or her vote.

“Any new spending that we are approaching, any new program that’s going to have the longevity of 70, 80 years, should be offset by cutting spending that’s less valuable,” said Paul on the Senate floor. “We need to at the very least have this debate. I will be offering up an amendment if this bill should come to the floor, but until then I will object.”

The bill, H.R. 1327, would extend the life of the Victims Compensation Fund to 2090. (The fund is currently set to stop accepting claims by the end of next year.) It would also do away with any limited appropriations for the fund, instead paying out however much is necessary to cover eligible claims through 2092.

The first 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund operated from 2001 to 2003, and awarded $7 billion to the families of the 2,880 people killed in the attacks on that day, plus another 2,680 who were injured.

In 2011 the fund was renewed and expanded to cover anyone injured during the rescue and recovery efforts at the targeted World Trade Center, as well as those in proximity to the attacks who were injured or came down with other health problems, including cancer. Ed: On what medical correlation for every type of cancer?

(So as long as one was in proximity and have cancer and/or “other health problems” for that matter now receives healthcare for their entire life as well as a financial award.)

Since 2011, the fund has since given out $5.2 billion to nearly 29,000 claimants. Keep reading

In conclusion. First Responders to 9/11 should have all the financial support in the world. But was it wrong for Rand Paul to bring up the price of it? Is it wrong to ask if we as a Nation wish to cover healthcare for all cancers and other determined health conditions for those as they get older, who may have been “Passersby” on 9/11? Should all of these people qualify for “cash awards” for economic loss and pain and suffering in addition to healthcare?

And perhaps their children, since we are now out to 2092. Should there be no vetting of the medical condition and can we not ask for some correlation if it is 9/11 related?

Once this law passes there is no recision. We may be in agreement that victims should be taken care of for the rest of their lives, and thus let it be so. I for one have no problem with true first responders. But we have already spent billions. Are we obligated to care in the future for possibly thousands more of illnesses of unknown origin? We have already “awarded” over 12 Billion Dollars.

I think it was worth having this conversation.

As I was researching this I found numerous ads by Attorneys:

See Ad

“I was a cleaner of downtown offices after 9/11. I was just diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer this year. I had to have a double mastectomy in June 2016. After I spoke to an attorney Turley Hansen, they had me in the office within a few days. I am so happy they took this claim filing off my plate so I can continue my treatments. They are very kind.”– M.J., Manhattan

BONUS: From a post done back in 2010. Yep. You guessed it.

Trial Lawyers Benefit The Most From 9/11 Health Care Bill

Ads began popping up touting Zadroga-Act.com with the tease: “WTC Compensation Fund: Free Consultation. Call Us Today.” Clicking on that link, though, doesn’t take you to a do-gooder advice site. It leads to the website of Worby Groner Edelman & Napoli Bern, the lawyers who represented most of the 10,000 9/11 plaintiffs and grabbed the bulk of the $150 million in contingency fees – about 25% – from the $625 million settlement.

Other than this, all is well in the swamp.

Thanks to  Doug Ross  for the link and welcome readers as well as WhatfingerNews for the links.
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