9/11 responders and survivors will meet with FBI Director Christopher Wray at a public forum on Friday to discuss the fund that compensates those diagnosed with illnesses related to the attacks.
John Feal, a 9/11 survivor and panel participant, runs the Feal Good Foundation, an advocacy group for people with 9/11-related illnesses.
“These men in women, uniform or non-uniform, across the country or here in New York, they’re not making it up. They’re sick from their heroic actions or just living and working in the downtown area.”
At least a thousand people have died and almost 40,000 people have been diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses. Congress established the Victim Compensation Fund in 2001 to help them. It closed in 2004, but was reauthorized in 2011. Authorization is set to expire in 2020.
The Victims Compensation Fund has paid more than $4 billion to first responders, recovery workers and residents.
