{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fitzpatrick.house.gov/2025/11/fitzpatrick-leads-effort-to-deliver-long-overdue-fairness-for-9-11-families", "Fitzpatrick Leads Effort to Deliver Long-Overdue Fairness for 9/11 Families", "2025-11-25", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Brian K. Fitzpatrick", "F000466", "fitzpatrick.house.gov", "fitzpatrick", "https://fitzpatrick.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) introduced the Fairness for 9/11 Families Technical Fix Act, bipartisan legislation that corrects procedural gaps in current law and ensures that Havlish Settling Judgment Creditors\u20149/11 families with final federal court judgments\u2014finally receive the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism (VSST) Fund payments already allocated to them and regain full eligibility in future distributions.\n\nFitzpatrick, a nationally recognized leader on 9/11 family advocacy and aviation security, spearheaded this initiative to deliver long-delayed justice and relief to families left waiting far too long.\n\n\u201cNothing can ever repay the families who lost so much on September 11th, but we can \u2014 and must \u2014 ensure they receive every benefit and protection this nation promised them. This legislation honors that duty,\u201d said Fitzpatrick. \u201cBy releasing VSST payments held in escrow and restoring full eligibility for future distributions, this bill sets right what has been wrong for far too long and ensures that no 9/11 family is ever left at the margins of the law again. It is keeping faith with those we pledged never to forget.\u201d\n\n\u201cCongressman Fitzpatrick and I have worked together for many years now to ensure 9/11 families are never left behind\u2014not in memory, not in policy, and not in the support they are owed. Yet a small group of Havlish plaintiffs have waited far too long for VSST payments already allocated to them. The Fairness for 9/11 Families Technical Fix Act finally makes this right by releasing those funds and restoring their full access going forward. I urge every Member of Congress to join us in this bipartisan commitment to fairness and deliver relief the families should have received long ago,\u201d said Ellen Saracini, of Lower Makefield widow of Captain Victor J. Saracini, United Flight 175 and National Aviation Safety Advocate.\n\nKey Provisions of the Fairness for 9/11 Families Technical Fix Act\n\nThe bill:\n\nReleases all VSST Fund payments currently held in escrow for Havlish Settling Judgment Creditors.\n\nRestores full eligibility for the Havlish plaintiffs to participate in future VSST payment rounds on equal footing with all other qualifying claimants.\n\nCreates a statutory exception clarifying that prior elections or conditional payment applications do not limit the plaintiffs\u2019 rights under the VSST program.\n\nApplies retroactively to ensure that no family is disadvantaged due to administrative delays or timing of the original allocation.\n\nAuthorizes no new federal spending, providing a fiscally responsible correction that fulfills existing commitments to 9/11 families.\n\nRead the full bill text here.\n\nBackground: Fitzpatrick\u2019s Leadership on 9/11 Family Support & National Aviation Security\n\nCongressman Fitzpatrick has long been one of Congress\u2019s most effective, bipartisan champions for 9/11 families and national aviation security. His partnership with Lower Makefield resident Ellen Saracini, widow of Captain Victor J. Saracini (United Flight 175), has resulted in some of the most consequential aviation security improvements since the September 11 attacks:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fitzpatrick.house.gov/2025/11/fitzpatrick-leads-effort-to-deliver-long-overdue-fairness-for-9-11-families"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8490090258419514, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}