Proposed Law Would Make Billions Available for Victims of September 11
U.S. Congressman Dan Goldman, along with a bipartisan coalition of federal legislators, is cosponsoring a proposed new law, that, if enacted, would provide several billion dollars of additional compensation for victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The American Victims of Terror Compensation Act would legally mandate an annual payment from the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (VSSTF) to qualifying individuals affected by September 11, while also increasing congressional oversight of the fund’s operations and expanding VSSTF personnel to ensure that the program is adequately staffed.
The law would also earmark $4 billion in fines to be collected by the federal government from cryptocurrency exchange Binance (as part of a 2023 plea deal arising from allegations of money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations) to replenish the VSSTF. (The fund is subsidized entirely by monies seized in the course of criminal prosecutions and civil forfeitures, and is not bankrolled with taxpayer dollars.)
In 2024, the VSSTF issued payments of slightly more than $1 billion to victims of state-sponsored terrorism, half of which went to victims of the September 11 attacks. The other half went to Americans affected by acts of terrorism determined to have perpetrated by nations like Iran, Cuba, North Korea, and Syria, as well as victims of incidents such as the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia.
Such awards are tax free under federal law, and are not limited by separate awards from the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund. Awards from the VSSTF to September 11 victims are subject to caps of $20 million per individual and $35 million per family (when multiple relatives file as a group).
Mr. Goldman said, “for far too long, the families who lost loved ones on September 11 and the survivors who still bear the scars of that horrific day have faced broken promises of relief and justice. While no amount of money can ever erase these families’ pain or fill the void left by their loss, our government has a solemn duty to uphold its promise to them.”