Bill · S. 5385· Senate(119-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.
- Introduced
- 9/14/2026
- Last activity
- 9/14/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Sponsored by
- Kirsten Gillibrand
- Cosponsors
- - 1 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse public employee retirement systems. The reimbursement covers costs related to accidental disability retirements and accidental deaths. These incidents must have resulted from the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. To be eligible, a retirement system must contain a member who participated in those specific operations. The bill authorizes $5,913,400,000 for fiscal year 2027 to carry out this requirement.
Yes· 3 of 4
Would people over 65 be better off under this?+5
The bill supports retirement systems that provide for members involved in the 9/11 recovery operations.
Would retired people be better off under this?+5
The bill ensures the financial stability of retirement systems for those affected by the 9/11 recovery operations.
Does this strengthen Social Security?+5
The bill provides financial support to public employee retirement systems for disability and death benefits.
The opposite
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-1
The bill authorizes $5,913,400,000 in new federal spending for FEMA reimbursements.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Financial relief for retirement systems: The Administrator of FEMA shall reimburse eligible public employee retirement systems for costs related to accidental disability retirements and accidental deaths resulting from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center (Section 1(a)(1)). This provides funds to cover the costs associated with those who were injured or killed during rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations.
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Targeted support for responders: The bill defines an eligible system as one containing a member who participated in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations resulting from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center (Section 1(c)). This ensures the money reaches systems that supported individuals involved in those specific operations.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Strict usage limitations: Amounts reimbursed may only be used by a public employee retirement system and may not be used by any other entity (Section 1(a)(2)). This limits how the funds can be distributed or utilized outside of the specific retirement systems defined in the bill.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Retirees+5Good For Seniors+5Good For Low Income Households+3
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Social Security+5
- Economy And Finance
- Reduces Government Spending-1
- 9/14/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Charles SchumerDemocrat · New York