The 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) recently announced in February 2019 that it would have to severely limit payouts due to lack of funding.

Almost half of 15,000 FDNY firefighters and other first responders who were activated on Sept. 11, 2001 are suffering from long term health complications due to the dangerous toxins that were released around Ground Zero.

These first responders are just a handful of people who were exposed to the deadly toxins released on 9/11. These first responders and many other people near Ground Zero during and after the attacks have filed VCF claims to receive compensation for their illnesses.

VCF claims help people and their families who are suffering from illnesses allegedly caused by the toxins released in the September 11 terrorist attacks and help provide financial assistance to any related expenses.

With the recent announcement of the budget cutback, dozens of United Firefighters Association members were planning on joining 9/11 survivor advocates to demand that Congress maintain the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

According to Fund Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya, the fund will only receive half of the budget it’s had in the last few years. People who applied for VCF claims after Feb. 1, 2019 are predicted to receive up to 70 percent less than what was first provided when the fund was first created.

Overview of 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund

The current 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was set up in 2011 with $7.3 billion but now has about $2 billion left, leaving little money to be distributed to victims before the 2020 deadline. NPR reports it has about 19,000 additional claims to address, and VCF representatives are reportedly aware of the severity of the situation.

“I am painfully aware of the inequity of the situation… [B]ut the stark reality of the data leaves me no choice. If there had been a different option available to me, I assure you I would have taken it,” Bhattacharyya stated.

The original 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund originally lasted from 2001 to 2004 when the terrorist attack first happened, with President Obama reinstating it on Jan. 2, 2011 and signed a bill into law that stated individuals could submit claims up until Dec. 18, 2020.

According to the New York Daily News, UFA President Gerald Fitzgerald said in a press conference that union members will be trying to communicate the importance of this issue, encouraging lawmakers to sign a bill that will extend the fund.

Approximately 11,000 people were employed by the FDNY when the terrorist attack occurred on September 11, which killed 343 FDNY members and caused 6,500 first responders to be exposed to toxic substances.

There have been over 70 different types of cancer linked to 9/11 related illnesses, with the toxic substances released from the terrorist attack including asbestos, burnt jet fuel, glass, and aluminum. Victims include but are not limited to:

• First Responders
• Firefighters, Police Officers, EMTs
• Sanitation Workers
• Construction Workers
• City Workers
• Utility Workers
• Cleaners
• 9/11 Volunteers
• Out of State Responders
• Employees working below Canal Street
• Residents living below Canal Street
• Students attending school below Canal Street

It was estimated that over one million people were exposed to toxic substances during the eight month cleaning period after the 9/11 attack.