On the eve of the full House vote for the September 11th Victim’s Compensation Fund bill that has drawn considerable public attention in recent months, Cheddar was the first to exclusively report Thursday the expected price tag: $10,180,000,000 over the next decade.
The bill — appropriately titled H.R. 1327, Never Forget the Heroes: Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act — has been subject to attention in the 116th Congress through the high-profile visits of former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, who has lent his celebrity to advocate for 9/11 first responders. The VCF is set to expire in 2020, with many of responders and advocates proclaiming that the urgency and the stakes have never been higher.
According to the 16-page report obtained by Cheddar, CBO Director Phillip Swagel sent his findings to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler and Ranking Member Doug Collins Thursday, indicating that the $10.2 billion figure would “pay claims to eligible victims through fiscal year 2090,” and would require “the VCF to fully compensate claimants who have received reduced awards in the past because of declining balances in funds.”
A source familiar with the process tells Cheddar there is high confidence that the measure will be met with both enthusiastic passage in the House and approval through a Mitch McConnell-helmed high chamber.
At an emotional meeting on Capitol Hill just weeks ago, McConnell was presented with the badge belonging to former NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez, a first responder who died just days later. The gesture was made by John Feal and Kenny Specht, 9/11 first responders who left their sit-down with the Kentucky Republican optimistic about its progress.
Feal told reporters, "[McConnell]’d like to see this get done by August, which is way ahead of schedule. We look forward to working with Mitch McConnell to ensure that we have legislation through the House and the Senate by August.”
Cheddar’s examination of the CBO score highlights considerable risks as well in predicting the development of aggressive health conditions. As the report notes, “more than 410,000 people, including 90,000 first responders, were directly exposed to environmental contaminants in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.” The CBO highlights the stark realities of the tragedy amid areas of “considerable uncertainty”:
The VCF is part of the larger James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, and has required renewal of funding every five years. While it’s unlikely that Congressional pay-as-you-go considerations may be up for negotiation in the House, it may be in order to attract the support of some Republican Senators.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama says his new Cabinet will include an artificial intelligence “minister” in charge of fighting corruption. The AI, named Diella, will oversee public funding projects and combat corruption in public tenders. Diella was launched earlier this year as a virtual assistant on the government's public service platform. Corruption has been a persistent issue in Albania since 1990. Rama's Socialist Party won a fourth consecutive term in May. It aims to deliver EU membership for Albania in five years, but the opposition Democratic Party remains skeptical.
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board.
President Donald Trump's administration is appealing a ruling blocking him from immediately firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook as he seeks more control over the traditionally independent board. The notice of appeal was filed Wednesday, hours after U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb handed down the ruling. The White House insists the Republican president had the right to fire Cook over mortgage fraud allegations involving properties in Michigan and Georgia from before she joined the Fed. Cook's lawsuit denies the allegations and says the firing was unlawful. The case could soon reach the Supreme Court, which has allowed Trump to fire members of other independent agencies but suggested that power has limitations at the Fed.
Chief Justice John Roberts has let President Donald Trump remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, the latest in a string of high-profile firings allowed for now by the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
