As the claims for medical compensation continue to be filed to the 9/11 compensation fund, experts are worried that funds will soon run out.

The federal government recently filed legislation to fully fund the 9/11 compensation fund, which would remove the 2020 expiration date and enable more people diagnosed with 9/11 related cancers to receive compensation.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the bill to the Senate that would “permanently reauthorize” the 9/11 compensation fund, which would continue to help victims being impacted by the terrorist attack over a decade later.

President Obama had signed a bill that guaranteed funding for the victim’s compensation fund until 2020, which this new legislation is hoping to permanently extend. The bipartisan bill is being cosponsored by Senator Cory Gardner, who stated that 9/11 survivors live across the country and that the 9/11 compensation fund will continue to be needed for some time to come.

“We simply cannot turn our backs on our 9/11 heroes and let the Victim Compensation Fund expire. [A]nything less would send a cruel message to our heroes and their families that Congress is shrugging their shoulders at their suffering,” Gillibrand stated after she submitted the bill.

Overview of 9/11 Compensation Fund

The bill comes about a week after representatives from the 9/11 compensation fund had stated that the designated $7.3 billion will run out before it was set to end on 2020.

Survivor advocates were concerned that as money in the September 11 compensation fund dwindles, then victims and their families who file later on will get less or no coverage for their medical conditions.

According to a statement made by 9/11 compensation fund special master Rupa Bhattacharya on Oct. 2, 2018, the money for the survivors “may be insufficient to compensate all claims (including those filed and those anticipated to be filed) under the current policies and procedures guiding the calculation of awards.”

According to the 9/11 compensation fund organizers, there has been a 36 percent increase in compensation claims from survivors in the last few years, along with a 94 percent spike in “deceased claims” from family members who lost their loved ones from Sept. 11 related illnesses.

In addition, the World Trade Center Health Program has reached over 100,000 cases with Congress fully funding it in 2015.

The original 9/11 compensation fund was closed in 2004 but was reactivated on Jan. 2, 2011, after the government discovered that numerous people continued to be diagnosed with cancers that were allegedly linked with the toxic substances at the Ground Zero site.

There have been over 70 different types of cancer linked with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, after numerous people were exposed to toxic substances like aluminum, glass, burnt jet fuel, and asbestos.

Over one million people were exposed to these substances during the eight month clean up period, with 9/11 cancer victims ranging from first responders to regular civilians that were in the general vicinity of Ground Zero.

People who have developed illnesses related to the Sept. 11 attacks may be eligible for the 9/11 compensation fund, as are people who lost their loved ones from these cancers.