First responders, volunteers and survivors of 9/11 will surround President Donald Trump when he signs legislation extending the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund through 2092.

For years, Congress has fought over the funding of the 9/11 compensation fund, despite agreeing to fund the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010, when it was authorized for five years at a cost of $7 billion.

In 2015, Congress reauthorized the Zadroga Act for 90 more years. Unfortunately, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which is a component of the Act, only received funding authorization for five additional years, which means it would end in December 2020.

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund provides financial assistance to those suffering from cancer and other related ailments that are a result of volunteering, working or living in the area near the World Trade Center attacks. People who were present in Lower Manhattan below Canal Street between Sept. 11, 2001, and May 31, 2002, and have developed one of a variety of more than 65 cancers may be eligible for compensation.

According to The Hill, the reauthorization to extend the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092 passed the House in a 402-12 vote. The bill passed the Senate in a 97 to 2 vote. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) did not support the bill without an amendment to offset the costs, which he proposed, but did not see pass. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) placed a procedural hold on the bill to block its passage in the Senate, as well.

Still, the bill went to the Senate floor, where it was debated and voted upon, with only Paul and Lee voting against funding the bill.

The fund has been running so low that new claims have been provided 50 to 70 percent less than previous similar claims have received.

Why September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Is Still Needed

The World Trade Center Twin Towers were attacked by terrorists who flew airplanes into each tower, causing catastrophic fires and structural damage that led both towers’ collapse. Thousands of first responders, including police officers, detectives, firefighters, EMTs, and others who were unhurt but willing to stay onsite to save the lives of others, were reportedly exposed to extreme amounts of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. The area is known as Ground Zero.

Many of the fumes and particles made people ill with acute respiratory issues, but what wasn’t known at the time was that the poisons became ticking timebombs inside of thousands of people. Contaminants that have a latent period, such as asbestos, can take anywhere between 10 to 50 years to instigate full-blown cancer. The WTC towers were built using 300 to 400 tons of asbestos, according to the National Resources Defense Council.

Many who lived, worked, or went to school near Ground Zero resumed attending to their normal routines a week or two after the attacks.

Survivors who worked near Ground Zero say their employers demanded they return to work based in large part on the then-EPA administrator’s announcement that the air was safe to breathe a week after the attacks.

One FBI agent, Lu Lieber, told reporters that she recalled turning on her car’s air conditioning during that time only to be hit with dust that emitted from the vents. Lu Lieber has since been diagnosed with two types of cancer.

“Lower Manhattan evolved into a cesspool of cancer,” she told The Guardian in an article published on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2018.

The reauthorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund will help Lieber and others who were exposed to toxic chemicals at Ground Zero and are still feeling the effects.