I want to thank you for inviting me to testify today on the Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

Today, we are proud to have a strongly bipartisan bill with 306 cosponsors; 80 of them are Republican.

First, Madam President, on my way coming down to Washington, I heard that a helicopter crashed onto the roof of a building on Seventh Avenue in my hometown of New York City. We are still learning the circumstances of the crash and the…

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Recognition of the Minority Leader The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is…

This is a real national tragedy, which did not end at all on September 11 or September 12.

We have an obligation to get this done.

September 11 showed the true bravery of the American people.

Allowing this fund to expire, or run out of the funding it needs, sets a dangerous precedent.

Very soon, more people will have died from 9/11-related illnesses than were murdered on that day.

Soon we will have more dying after 9/11 than actually died on 9/11.

This program has been run exceptionally well. The fact that it is running out of funds is no reflection at all on the Administration of the program.

It was for those tens of thousands of brave selfless and innocent responders and survivors that Congress came together in 2010, after years of struggles and negotiations, to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and to…

We owe it to all of them.

I really want to thank him. I don't think we would have been where we were back in 2015 or we would have been where we are now if it were not for Jon's efforts.

These are real people who are dying, and we have an obligation to them and to their families...

I would also like to thank Ranking Member Collins for his support of this bill...

We must fulfill our promise to them to 'never forget.'

This is such a vital bill. It has a human aspect to it.