With a vote of 97-2, the Senate passed a bill Tuesday that will fund the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund through 2090.
The fund was originally established in the months following the September 11 terrorist attacks to support the families of the victims killed, as well as survivors living with injuries.
The law, which required reauthorization, was expected to expire next year.
The fund has received more requests in recent years for serious illnesses related to the attacks and cleanup, according to CNN reporting.
The House approved the new legislation earlier in July, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill.
Comedian and former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, an ardent supporter of the first responders to the September 11 attacks, had heavily lobbied for the legislation, and testified on Capitol Hill alongside some of the first responders.
Sen. Rand Paul objected to the bill on the grounds that passing the legislation would require other expenditures to be cut, which delayed its passage in the Senate.
The fund is expected to cost $10.2 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The bill’s full title is “Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act,” named after three first responders who died from 9/11-related illnesses.
With a looming government shutdown, the House of Representatives is set to vote to advance four separate spending bills advanced by GOP hardliners.
Social media users take note: You won't be able to snap that fall foliage selfie at a popular Vermont spot. The town has temporarily closed the road to nonresidents due to overcrowding and “poorly behaved tourists.”
A pair of front-row balcony tickets to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865 — the night President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth — sold at auction for $262,500, according to a Boston-based auction house.
President Joe Biden grabbed a bullhorn on the picket line Tuesday and urged striking auto workers to “stick with it” in an unparalleled show of support for organized labor by a modern president.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the drawing of a new Alabama congressional map with greater representation for Black voters to proceed. The new districts also could help Democrats trying to flip control of the House of Representatives.
Sen. Bob Menendez was defiant amid calls for his resignation as he faces bribery charges.
The House of Representatives is set to vote to advance four separate funding bills as a shutdown looms.
The jurors in the Georgia election interference trial against former president Donald Trump will remain unnamed.
Stocks fell in Tuesday's session as talks on a spending bill continue in Washington, DC to avert a government shutdown.
With a government shutdown five days away, Congress is moving into crisis mode as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means curtailing federal services for millions of Americans.
