HR 9350: No 9/11 Family Left Behind Act of 2026

HR 9350 in plain English: This bill is early in the legislative process and detailed text is not yet available. Sponsor: Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D) · Status: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Stated purpose

This bill aims to provide an additional lump sum catch-up payment to certain 9/11 victims and their families who have not yet received payments under the existing Justice for United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act.

Arguments supporters make

• Some 9/11 victims and families have been left out of prior compensation rounds, and this bill closes that gap so no qualifying person is forgotten.
• The payment formula is already defined by law, so this simply extends an existing, tested system rather than creating a new bureaucracy.
• Honoring commitments to 9/11 families is a matter of national obligation, and delays in payment cause real hardship to survivors and dependents.

Arguments opponents make

• Drawing funds from unappropriated Treasury money bypasses the normal congressional budgeting process, which critics say sets a problematic spending precedent.
• The eligibility criteria are tied to multiple layers of existing law, making it unclear how many people qualify and what the total cost to taxpayers will be.
• Some may argue that compensation programs from the 9/11 era have already had many years and extensions, and that additional rounds of payments should be subject to full legislative review and cost analysis.

Tradeoffs

Providing catch-up payments ensures no qualifying 9/11 family member is left out, but doing so through open-ended Treasury appropriations without a defined cost ceiling trades fiscal transparency for speed of relief.

Current status in Congress: In committee.