S 5385: A bill to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse public employee retirement systems for accidental disability retirements and accidental deaths resulting from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

S 5385 in plain English: This bill would require FEMA to reimburse public employee retirement systems for costs associated with accidental disability retirements and accidental deaths that resulted from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, authorizing $5,913,400,000 for fiscal year 2027.

Stated purpose

This bill requires FEMA to reimburse public employee retirement systems for the costs of disability retirements and death benefits owed to workers who were disabled or killed as a result of participating in rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks.

Key points

• Requires FEMA to reimburse public employee retirement systems for 9/11-related accidental disability retirements and accidental deaths
• Authorizes $5,913,400,000 for FEMA to carry out reimbursements in fiscal year 2027

Arguments supporters make

• Public employee retirement systems have been carrying the financial burden of 9/11-related disability and death benefits for over two decades — costs that resulted from a national tragedy, not ordinary job risks, so the federal government should share that responsibility.
• Reimbursing these funds helps protect the retirement security of first responders and their families who sacrificed their health or lives in service to the country after the attacks.
• Many 9/11-related illnesses and deaths have only been recognized years later, meaning pension systems have faced growing unexpected costs that were not anticipated when the funds were originally structured.

Arguments opponents make

• Authorizing nearly $6 billion in a single fiscal year is a very large expenditure, and critics may question whether the cost estimate is well-documented or whether it duplicates benefits already provided through other 9/11 compensation programs.
• Some may argue that reimbursing pension systems rather than directly compensating affected individuals or families could result in funds being used in ways that do not directly reach the people who were harmed.
• Others may contend that pension fund obligations are primarily a state and local responsibility, and that setting a federal precedent for reimbursing them could open the door to similar claims for other disasters.

Tradeoffs

The bill directs significant federal funds toward long-running costs borne by state and local pension systems, relieving those systems at the expense of the federal budget; the tension is between honoring a national commitment to 9/11 responders and the question of which level of government should bear these long-term costs.

Current status in Congress: In committee.

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