Espaillat bills to aid in COVID relief
Laws modeled after the 9/11 Victims Compensation fund, will create memorials
Espaillat introduces bills to compensate COVID-19 victims and create a
memorial File photo
DO IT FOR THEM.
BRONX TIMES R 16 EPORTER, JULY 24-30, 2020 BTR
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BY JASON COHEN
Looking to model on the
9/11 Victims Compensation
Fund, one elected offi cial is
hoping to aid families impacted
by COIVD-19 and create
a memorial in the Bronx
for New Yorkers who died of
COVID-19.
On July 17, Congressman
Adriano Espaillat announced
two legislative initiatives to
compensate surviving individuals
and families impacted
by COVID-19 and to establish
a commission for the creation
of a National COVID-19 Memorial
in New York City.
“The COVID-19 pandemic
has devastated the U.S. economy,
impacted every community
across the nation, and
wrought unprecedented fi -
nancial, emotional and physical
damage on individuals
and families,” Espaillat said.
“We are in the midst of an
invisible war that has so far
taken roughly 140,000 lives
in the United States, far more
than combined loss of American
lives during the Vietnam
War, the 9/11 attacks and the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Congress must take action
to alleviate the suffering
of those affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic, as well
as properly commemorate the
lives lost, to help our nation
recover. I am calling on my
congressional colleagues to
join me in this effort to help
our nation recover both spiritually
and economically from
this crisis.”
The COVID-19 Victims
Compensation Fund Act
would create a fund modeled
on the 9/11 Victims Compensation
Fund to provide fi nancial
relief to those who fell ill
from or the families of those
lost to COVID-19. The bill
would allow individuals and
families to receive compensation
for both economic costs
due to loss of employment,
medical expenses, and loss of
business, as well as provide
for physical and emotional
pain and suffering infl icted
by COVID-19.
The COVID-19 National Memorial
Act would commemorate
victims and help our country
overcome this national
tragedy as a collective. This
legislation would create a commission
to plan, design and
raise funds for a national memorial
in the Bronx that honors
those who lost their lives
to the pandemic as well as the
doctors, nurses, fi rst responders
and other heroes who have
selfl essly fought to overcome
this invisible enemy.
Borough President Ruben
Diaz Jr. praised the bills.
“The Bronx has been
one of the hardest hit parts
of the country, emblematic
of how COVID-19 has ravaged
our communities in every
imaginable way,” Diaz
said. “COVID-19 has forever
changed how we go about our
daily lives, both literally and
fi guratively. I applaud Congressman
Espaillat for presenting
these legislative initiatives
that promise to go a
long way in jump-starting our
collective healing process,
not only by helping our most
vulnerable communities economically,
but also honoring
the memory of all those tragically
lost to COIVD-19 and the
heroic fi rst responders and
essential workers who have
bravely fought this historic
pandemic. I look forward to
working with Congressman
Espaillat to fi nd a fi tting location
in the borough of The
Bronx for this important national
memorial.”
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