February 23, 2019 – In Breaking News – The New York Post
Retired NYPD Sgt. Andrew Nelson knows that come 9/11, politicians will “wrap themselves up in the flag and say never forget.”
“It’s a lie,” said Nelson, one of thousands of first responders who got sick in the years after the terrorist attacks and are now furious that benefits are going to be slashed.
Nelson, 54, responded to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and spent months in lower Manhattan afterward.
He retired in 2005, moved to Illinois and in December 2017 was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
(The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) is making “significant reductions” in awards to first responders because it is running out of money. Courtesy of Eyewitness News ABC7NY and YouTube. Posted on Feb 15, 2019.)
The family, at the urging of a 9/11 advocate, filed a claim with the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, but his application has stalled for more than a year.
On Feb. 15, he and thousands of others learned that their payment would be cut in half because the fund is running out of money.
“It’s disheartening,” said Nancy Nelson, Andrew’s wife. “I’m disappointed in our Congress. I feel like we’ve been forgotten.”
There is $2.37 billion remaining in the fund, but it is not enough to cover everyone.
(9/11 victims advocate and former host of ‘The Daily Show’ Jon Stewart urges Congress to renew the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund before money runs out. Courtesy of Fox News and YouTube. Posted on Sep 7, 2018.)
Nearly 11,000 people applied for compensation last year and another 4,800 filed claims in January.
The fund is supposed to close at the end of 2020.
Advocates are scheduled to lobby Congress Monday to permanently extend the fund and reverse the cuts.
“It’s just that we got a lot of new people in Congress,” said retired FDNY Capt. Eugene Kelty.
“Unfortunately, they have a tendency to forget history.”
(Current claims could be slashed by 50 percent, future claims would get 70 percent less than what should be authorized. Courtesy of PIX11 News and YouTube. Posted on Feb 22, 2019.)
Continue reading… 9/11 first responders’ benefits to be slashed as fund runs out of money
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