House passes bill to give $2.7 billion to families of 9/11 victimsSept. 30, 2022 Updated Fri., Sept. 30, 2022 at 9:34 p.m.WASHINGTON – In its final vote before lawmakers left Washington for November’s midterm elections, the House on Friday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that would authorize $2.7 billion in compensation payments to the families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.But with this legislation, we can further ease two decades of anguish.”To fund the lump-sum payments, the bill would draw from unspent money from the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal initiative created in 2020 to offer loans to small-business owners who kept their workers employed during the coronavirus pandemic.The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., was based on a similar measure introduced in August by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.Malliotakis said that “5,364 individuals who lost loved ones on that fateful day have fought for 21 years for their entitled compensation under the United States Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Fund after being wrongfully excluded.”“Today, the House finally took a step to correct this solemn wrong and provide our 9/11 widows, widowers and children with the redress they deserve,” she said.House lawmakers have also been under pressure to address a $3 billion funding deficit for the World Trade Center Health Program, a federal health care initiative that covers medical treatment and monitoring for more than 117,000 survivors and emergency workers who responded to the attacks 21 years ago.The shortfall, prompted by a rise in medical costs and cancer rates over the past three years, means the program will not be able to cover new members starting in October 2024 if the gap is not addressed, Republican lawmakers have warned."