Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced a bipartisan Senate resolution marking 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and honoring those killed, the people who responded and survivors still living with the attacks' effects.
The resolution pays tribute to the 2,977 people killed in Lower Manhattan, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It also recognizes service members who defended the United States after the attacks and the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93.
Gillibrand's office said the measure honors 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, eight emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and 55 military personnel at the Pentagon who died responding to the attacks. The resolution also acknowledges charitable foundations, nonprofits, labor and faith-based organizations, and community groups that have served survivors and victims' families.
“As we mark 25 years since September 11, 2001, we owe it to the victims, the heroes who ran into the burning towers, and the military personnel who answered the call to serve to ensure their sacrifices are never forgotten,” Gillibrand said in a statement. She said the resolution also reaffirms support for survivors, their families and programs providing continuing care.
The New York Democrat pointed to federal health and compensation measures she has supported for responders and survivors. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 established the World Trade Center Health Program and reopened the Victim Compensation Fund, according to her office.
A later reauthorization extended the health program through 2090. Gillibrand's office also cited the Never Forget the Heroes Act of 2019, which permanently funded the compensation fund, and subsequent changes to the health program's budget formula. More than 140,000 responders and survivors are enrolled in the program, the release said.
Seven Democrats — Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia, and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — joined Republicans Chuck Grassley of Iowa and John Boozman of Arkansas as cosponsors, according to Gillibrand's office.
The announcement describes the resolution as a commemoration and does not say the Senate has adopted it. It was issued on the anniversary of the attacks.
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