July 23 (UPI) — The Senate passed a bill to replenish the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund on Tuesday, sending it to President Donald Trump for approval.
The bill, which secures funds through the year 2090, passed by a vote of 97-2 on Tuesday, with Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul voting against the legislation.
Earlier this month, the House voted 402-12, with 11 Republicans and one Independent voting against it.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., praised the passage of the bill and called on Trump to provide his signature.
“The president must sign this vital bill immediately and bring relief to our 9/11 heroes and survivors,” Maloney wrote on Twitter.
To date, about 40,000 people have applied to the fund, created by Congress, which provides financial assistance to those injured and the families of those killed at the sites of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
It was initially operated from 2001 to 2004 and then reactivated in 2011.
Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York also celebrated the passage of the bill. Speaking on the Senate Floor before the vote, he characterized Tuesday as a “day of relief” for the first responders and the bill’s sponsors.
“Those first responders … have watched their brothers and sisters get sick because they rushed bravely to the towers at Ground Zero,” he said.
As of this month, 200 New York Fire Department firefighters have died due to illnesses related to the attacks.
