Since the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11th nearly twenty years ago, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund has provided billions for victims, first responders, and families who lost loved ones. 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund payouts in 2020 totaled around $1.6 billion, according to the annual report from the fund. This compensation was divided among just over 8,200 eligible recipients.

The compensation fund has been in jeopardy multiple times throughout the last two decades, but has been continuously renewed, and finally made virtually permanent last year, when it was extended until Oct. 1, 2090 with the signing of H.R. 1327, The Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), also known as the VCF Permanent Authorization Act.

The Act not only extends the deadline for filing a claim, but also appropriates the funds necessary to pay any and all approved claims. This is an especially important change because victims had begun to receive reduced awards due to lack of funds.

Despite the unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund payouts in 2020 continued and even increased from the previous year, as the fund was made permanent and given sufficient funding to restore previously reduced awards and compensate other victims fully going forward.

On the authorization of the VCF Permanent Authorization Act, Attorney General William P. Barr noted that the program has awarded billions on more than 23,000 claims from those who have suffered, or from families of those who have died, because of exposure to dangerous toxins at the sites of the attacks.

An estimated one million people were exposed to the harmful toxins left in the air around Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attacks. Since then, many have been diagnosed with one of the dozens of types of cancers that link back to that exposure and may be eligible for compensation.

First responders, construction workers, city workers, and nearby students and residents may have been exposed.

For many, the health effects of their exposure at Ground Zero, including cancer, can take years or even decades to surface.

“With 20,000 claims currently awaiting consideration, and more certain to be filed in the months and years ahead, today’s action ensures that the VCF can continue in its successful effort to compensate every deserving individual impacted by the tragic events of September 11,” said Attorney General Barr.

If you or someone you love was diagnosed with cancer after exposure at Ground Zero, you may be eligible for compensation through the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. The $1.6 billion in 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund payouts in 2020 marks a new era for the fund, and victims and their families can expect full compensation in the years and decades ahead.