Patrick Leahy: “I am saddened that the Senate has been unable to reach agreement to extend the pending deadline of the September 11…”

“I am saddened that the Senate has been unable to reach agreement to extend the pending deadline of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund to allow for more time for the many still grieving victims who have been unable to bring themselves to endure the painful process of filing claims. On September 9, Senators Durbin, Schumer, Dodd, Lieberman, Clinton, Corzine, and Lautenberg joined with me to introduce S. 1602, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Extension Act of 2003. Unfortunately, this bill continues to be bottlenecked in the Judiciary Committee and blocked from Senate passage by anonymous Republican holds on the Senate floor. Every Democratic Senator has agreed to pass our legislation by unanimous consent, but one or more members of the majority are still objecting to its passage in the Senate. Senator Daschle, Senator Lautenberg and I have reached out to our Republican colleagues to try to achieve a compromise to extend this arbitrary deadline. We have expressed our willingness to do so for a period of time less than one year, but unfortunately the opponents of this bill have refused to meet us partway. Moreover, they have been unable to explain why it is necessary to force these families to confront this pain during an already stressful time--the holiday season.”