government. "washington journal" continues. host: each week in the segment of the "washington journal," we take a look at how your money is at work in a different federal program. we are taking a look at the 9/11 victim compensation fund. we are talking with michael mcauliffe with the new york daily news. how long after 9/11 was it established? what is the criteria to qualify? guest: there was a fund that started right after 9/11 and lasted for a couple of years. that lapsed. it did not take into account people getting sick after 9/11. , 2010, it wasars

the last thing that passed congress. that renewed the victim compensation fund for a couple of billion dollars. that expired in 2015. they had to come back and do it all over again. a lot of folks saw jon stewart coming down then. it sort of made a popular impression on the country. they ultimately passed it near the end of the year. it seems to linger each time it happens. $7.4bumped it up to billion. the way the congressional budget office crunched the numbers, they assumed even though it was only a five year program, if it lasted until 2025, they would have enough money to there would be something like that money. ther -- enough money. there were be something like 10,000 people who got cancer.

what happened is a lot more people got sick. a lot more people found out about it. last year they found they had to cut the payouts 50% for the people who work in the system but had not gotten an award and 70% for the people who had not started the process. they were running about $5 billion short your host: you mentioned -- short. host: you mentioned jon stewart back on capitol hill talking about this issue. here is that clip. [video clip] >> i am sorry if i sound angry and undiplomatic. i am angry. they have every justification to be that way. there is not a person here, not an empty chair on that stage ut never not tweet o forget the heroes of 9/11. never forget their bravery. , whatforget what they did

they gave to this country. well, here they are. and where are they? thing ifuld be one their callous indifference and rank hypocrisy were benign, but it is not. cost theseerence men and women their most valuable commodity, time! the one thing they are running out of. host: michael mcauliffe, talk about why he was on capitol hill and the status of the bill was pushing for. guest: he was on capitol hill because people do tend to forget. it is a painful thing.

.e is a celebrity he really cares about this issue. he lived through it. he lived near ground zero. it had a personal impact on him. that is why in. -- him. running out of money, there is a new bill that would make it until 2090. watching that clip, it reminded me of the fellow who was sitting next to mr. stewart, a detective lverez, he was supposed to get chemotherapy for that. left to doy, he that, and the doctors were unable to do that because his liver is failing. he is in hospice care now. he had to take time to come down to washington to show himself to the lawmakers rather than being at home and getting one more round of chemotherapy.

the house would have to pass it, probably in july. that is what steny hoyer would has talked about. mcconnell initch the senate. host: we are talking about the 9/11 victim compensation fund. the special phone line in this segment, (202) 748-8000 if you live in the central or eastern time zones. if you live in the mountain or pacific time zones (202) 748-8001. special phone line for family (202)s of 9/11 victims, 748-8002. michael mcauliffe is joining us, reporter for the new york daily news. you have been covering this issue from the beginning cannot even from the aftermath -- beginning, even from the

aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. guest: i go back to the day it happened. i lived in new york at the time. i lived in brooklyn. when a traffic reporter said a small plane had flown into the world trade center, i went down there. i happened to be there talking to people leaving the towers as they were still standing. i had the misfortune of being there when they collapsed. host: how long did you stay there covering the aftermath and cleanup?\ guest: i stayed for a few more hours that day. i was an editor at abc news. i was a national editor. i sat at my desk until they let us go to a hotel all covered in dust. host: you wrote a story for the huffington post about concerns

about whether you have been exposed to some of these chemicals and particles in the air that have killed so many people. can you talk about that experience and what you found out and how you did that? guest: the 10th anniversary was coming up when i was working at huffington post. it was a situation where a lot of folks were not remembering exactly what happened and what the impacts were. i took some of the dust that had collected in my pockets. it was so dense, it filled half my pockets. i took some of that dust and said it to a lab to have it analyzed. they found it had just what they expected, silica, pulverized concrete, all sorts of trace elements that can have in impact on the people who briefed it. -- an impact on the people who breathed it.

down, ise towers came had the presence of mind to breathe through my shirt. i told the people around me to breathe through their shirt. i seem to have been spared from the impact. the folks who were down there who were inhaling all that stuff in who did not -- stuff, who did not have the equipment, there day after day, you are not sure what the effect is going to be. it is a very slow process that is emerging now. host: in terms of the victim compensation fund, how many people have been compensated over the years? guest: in the current fund, it is almost 2200 who have been compensated so far. that may include some amended claims. there are another 21,000 or so pending. that is why we are in this tough situation.

i don't remember the specific payouts for most of them. ,f you have stage four cancer it is worth $250,000. old-fashioned wrongful death suit, you would imagine you would get a lot more than that. host: who decides what different diseases are worth? guest: it is a long process that goes back to the original program. there are existing standards. you should try to find ken feinberg. he ran the original victim compensation fund. it is not an easy thing to come up with these numbers. they have ground through them. it is a public program. it is not meant to be like a windfall for folks. it is meant to replace losses. if you have a life insurance

policy, that would be subtracted from any award you get. it is meant to replace what people lost because of the attacks. host: taking your questions and comments on phone lines. mountain live in the and pacific time zone, and a special line for families of 9/11 victims. (202) 748-8002 is the number. norma is up first from kansas. caller: good morning. my name is normal. i'm 75. i remember 9/11. they were heroes. for the first time in years, i saw our country come together. everybody was nice to everybody else. everybody volunteered. people were to church, and they prayed. these people, the 9/11 firefighters and stuff like that

, the slaves have been dead 150 years or more. our firefighters and the rest of the people who saved our country and people by going into buildings where it is not safe, you know, they deserve compensation. host: can you talk about the obstacles this latest bill faces? you talk about whether it is likely to pass? guest: steny hoyer has said he is planning to bring this to the floor. i would expect that in july before the august recess. if you go to regular order in the senate, lindsey graham and the judiciary committee would market up. mitch mcconnell would have to put it on the floor. it does have majority support in the senate. it comes down to the leadership and then deciding we need to

move this fairly quickly. the way it has worked in the past to the dismay of 9/11 responders is it has been attached to other legislative measures and has to go through the sausage making process that is rather unpleasant. they would like to see it on the .loor to pass on its own whether or not that will happen, i don't know. askedmitch mcconnell was about jon stewart's testimony. here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> we have never failed to address this issue. we will address it again. i don't know why he is all bent out of shape. we will take care of the 9/11 victims compensation fund. whenthink he was shocked he was appearing before that committee and the house so few members showed up that day.

>> that frequently happens. members frequently have a lot going on at the same time. it seems to me he is looking to take offense. >> it will be fully funded? >> yes. host: that was the senate majority leader on fox news. we're taking your calls this morning. michael mcauliffe is our guest. inol is waiting for you connecticut. good morning. caller: good morning. i remember 9/11. i dragged my daughter from high school down to the site. i said to her, i want you to remember this forever. she is older now. is why do they have to do this process when a president can fly to mar-a-lago

and spend millions on golf? we have money for golf, but we don't have money for people? that is all i have. guest: i guess that is sort of where we are at. the senate is probably going to pass this, it is just a question of when and whether or not they do it in a fashion that makes the 9/11 community feel whole. i am sure the country will come up with this program. host: when it comes to a set of not money for this program can some folks on twitter are asking why is there a limit? towards theho ran twin towers should b have all of their health care needs met, no ifs, ands, or buts. guest: right after 9/11, it sort

of faded. in some ways it is understandable. people don't want to keep something painful like that on the forefront. when the legislation started advancing, it was very regional. it was a bit partisan where people were casting it as a new york issue. it was not going to pass at all. tom coburn, who was then in the u.s. senate, and mike enzi were objecting to the price tag. kirsten gillibrand saved the bill. they had to cut it in half and put in all sorts of restrictions to make sure there was no fraud or abuse. it is that legacy of partisanship and regionalism and fiscal prudence that started the cap. it has gone on in five-year increments. host: do we know if there has been fraud and abuse? guest: there has not been.

it has been remarkable. all the audits have come back clean. program.the health in order to get into the health program, you have to prove you were there and that you were there for a certain amount of time. that puts you in a line for the compensation program. you still have to go through another approval and verification process before you can be admitted into the compensation program. there is a lot of checking that goes on. host: are the firefighters and police officers bumped to the head of the line past the regular citizens? no, but by the fact of the jobs they did, they have documentation. they have people that can testify they were there. i have medical systems in place already. it is easier for them to get through the process. is of the reasons the fund

running out of money is the survivors, people in the neighborhoods are realizing this money is there for them as well. caller: good morning. it is good to talk to you. problem with this 9/11 fund. it is just another government program that they promise. i'm a veteran. they can't even take care of the veterans right now. now, -- if -- i love the people of kentucky. i go there all the time. i live in tennessee. these people are wonderful. electinghey keep

mcconnell? i will never know. that is why our government is at a standstill. my question about this 9/11 know, they say i have an agent orange problem, and it has not been recognized yet. i was an infantryman on the ground. i was virtually spray. exceptno real effects ulcers, prostate cancer, and breathing problems. the people that live around this, did they get away from the 9/11 site enough to not be r do theyby that, o still live in that area in manhattan? guest: i am sorry for your own problems. i'm sorry you are not able to get that dealt with. if you will remember back to rudy giuliani, at the time they

told people the air was fine. a lot of folks who might have stayed away, they went back and went back to work. they went back to the places where they lived. there are probably many more who suffered longer exposure than might have otherwise to him and that is another part of why there are more people coming forward now. host: michael is next out of brooklyn. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. timederstanding is at that christy todd whitman, the former governor of new jersey, was in she andf the epa, and members of that organization determined the area was safe. obviously, it was not. whether any consequences that happened to her in the epa as a result of that? her name disappeared pretty quickly.

it seems she is responsible for that. thank you. guest: she has not face any particular consequences except that as the effects became more apparent, they did have a hearing several years after the fact that was rather uncomfortable for her. she was gone from the epa by then and long since not a governor. host: washington, rose, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my phone call. i want to make a quick comment. i am a health care worker. i'm a registered nurse. on that particular day when 9/11 occurred, my younger sister was traveling from louisiana to visit. just being in the health care system, i agree with the soldierscaller, the are not being properly taken care. care of.

running in to save people's lives, they should be compensated. that to ca senator like mitch mcconnell, who has tax breakshe largest for the 1% of the population. these firemen who work every day to say people, they deserve -- save people, they deserve to be compensated. i think mitch mcconnell, who calls himself the grip reaper, which is appalling to me, he should stand back and determine if he is really a statesman or just interested in taking a big tax break and forget about the hard-working people every day who do not get to stand up in front of the congress and abuse power? host: we heard the majority

leader in the senate say this will get a vote, this will get taken care of. are there members in the senate who have come out against this getting a vote, who have called for cuts were attaching into another vehicle? guest: no one has come out against it. i don't know which specific senator has been asking some questions about details. as far as i know, there is no one opposing it. it seems to have a clear line of sight to getting on the floor. we will see where that goes. you say you have heard of a senator asking around , this is the scrutiny behind the scenes? meeting's the 9/11 responders are having with people on the hill. they have been coming down since october. there is an advocate coming tomorrow to meet with mitch mcconnell in his office.

to have to some of these things out. before mitchne mcconnell or anyone makes a public statement. host: do they seem optimistic? guest: they are optimistic. what they want to see is that level of commitment they feel the rest of the country shows them. they want to see that out of washington and out of the majority leader and speaker pelosi's office. caller: good morning. i cannot believe what is going regarding 911. it.s involved in why? i was on the 12th floor. i had binoculars in my office. as i was getting off the turnpike, i saw the first plane hit the building.

i thought it was a mistake from teterboro airport. by the time i got to my office, i realized what was going on. over the next hour and a half, the fbi and the police showed up. why? the south towers were down. the only phones that work were because they had radio dispatch. management stayed for almost two days programming phones. every hour on the hour, the fbi or the police came to pick them up to give them to first responders. why am i upset? because i saw people jump out of the building. i saw the plane hit the second building. why? because mitch mcconnell and everyone else should be limited to two terms. then they cannot get their claws in. congress took money out of social security. have they ever paid it back? do you know how much somebody

earns starting as a congressman? $174,000. every year, they get a raise. are they all the same medical plan we are? no. are they on the same social security? no. do they have the same drug and medical coverage? no. host: was there anything you wanted to comment on? guest: people talk about first responders, but they don't necessarily know all the first responders. the man coming down tomorrow to meet with mcconnell was a construction worker who lost half of his foot. the verizon workers had to go through tunnels for days and weeks to replace fiber so wall street could get back up and running again. those guys had a really tough job. a lot of them get really sick from it. host: carol is calling from ohio. caller: good morning.

i have a comment. i hear all about the first responders. thank goodness for them. watching television from florida the day that this happened. i saw hundreds and hundreds of construction workers, artifacts, iron workers -- hard hats, iron workers rush in to do everything they could to help the people in these buildings. i don't hear much about these people, who probably some of them have since given their lives to the damage that happened to their health. i wonder what this man has to say about these people and what the government has done for them and their families? host: we were just talking about that. guest: this goes to what i was talking about. there was another construction

worker i wrote a lot of stories about the daily news. picuro, he was an ironworker. he got sick and died shortly after the first program was her new. those folks are out there -- was renewed. those folks are out there. there were corrections officers involved in the cleanup. you don't think of them as first responders. there were a lot of them at the landfill at staten island where they took to bury where they were sorting. host: you talked about your experience down there. are there reporters who have qualified for the victims compensation fund? guest: i actually don't know who they all are. i know there are at least a dozen reporters who are at least in the health program. i don't know of any compensation

funds. there were folks that were there day in and day out. ironically, the reporters are in the same program with some of the firefighters and police officers. host: michael mcauliffe has covered it for years as a reporter with various organizations. you can see his work at