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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
WASHINGTON (Bloomberg)President Barack Obama signed into law a measure that provides $4.3 billion in aid over five years to Sept. 11 first responders and survivors, with $1.5 billion for health care benefits and $2.7 billion for victims’ compensation.
The law, which President Obama signed yesterday in private during his vacation in Hawaii, establishes funding so that Congress doesn’t have to provide annual appropriations for government programs providing health care to those who responded to rescue and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center site, and to others who were in the area on Sept. 11, 2001.
In an e-mailed statement released after he signed the bill, the president called the legislation “a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks.”
“We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers, and first responders who risked their lives to save others,” he said in the statement.
The U.S. Senate and House both acted on the bill on Dec. 22, the last day of the 111th Congress. The Senate passed it by voice vote after Republicans dropped their opposition. The House followed with a roll call vote, passing the bill 206-60.
Since the attacks, lawmakers have provided almost $500 million for screening and treatment services to those involved in the rescue and recovery efforts, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.