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SALT LAKE CITY — The two senators, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who held up a bill last week to continue funding for 9/11 victims and first responders were the only members of the Senate to vote against it Tuesday.
Lee joined Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on the short end of an overwhelming 97-2 vote to compensate victims of the Sept. 11 attacks through 2092, essentially making the fund permanent.
The vote came after the Senate rejected Lee's amendment to restrict the authorization to 10 years and Paul's proposal requiring offsets for money spent on the fund.
Asked for comment on his vote, Lee spokesman Conn Carroll referred back to the senator's statement from last week and said Lee had nothing to add.
Last week, Lee said he wants Congress to have continued oversight to ensure that the fund is used as intended.
“Since 2011, the 9/11 Victims Fund has always had finite authorizations, and by all accounts it has an excellent record avoiding waste and abuse. These two things are not coincidental. They go together,” Lee said last week.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, voted for Lee's and Paul's failed amendments before voting for the bill.
"While those amendments didn't pass, it was critical that Congress act in a bipartisan manner to renew the fund," he said in a statement.
The Senate PASSES the 71-year reauthorization of the 9/11 victim compensation, 97-2.
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 23, 2019
No Votes: Sens. Lee (R-UT) & Paul (R-KY) https://t.co/NEgRhdOkARpic.twitter.com/c8av5TCWqE
"We have a responsibility to care for our heroic 9/11 first responders who have become ill as a result of their service at Ground Zero. At the same time, we also have a responsibility to be careful stewards of tax dollars," Romney said, adding that's why voted for the amendments.
First responders and advocates, including comedian Jon Stewart, sharply criticized Lee for placing a procedural hold on the bill. That, along with Paul's objection to passing the legislation on unanimous consent, prevented a vote last Thursday.
Under pressure from 9/11 first responders, Lee later Thursday said he had reached a deal to vote on the two amendments and final passage of the legislation this week.
Lee earlier said he supported the $10.2 billion authorization the Congressional Budget Office estimated is necessary for covering all valid claims between now and 2029, hence his bid to limit the funding to 10 years.
John Feal, a 9/11 first responder, called Lee a "liar" last week for blocking the legislation after he said the senator's office "swore up and down" in a meeting that the senator would not get in the way.
The Senate rejects the Lee Amendment, 32-66.
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 23, 2019
Now, they're voting on an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on spending cuts to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.
60 votes are needed to pass.
Watch LIVE: https://t.co/Qm9t2sd3u0pic.twitter.com/Z5eIhcPVsa
"I'm going to ask my team now to put down your swords and pick up your rakes and go home, and hopefully, we don't have to come back," Feal told his fellow first responders at a news conference after the vote, NBC News reported. "What I'm going to miss the most about D.C. is nothing."
And to Lee and Paul he said: "We whupped your asses."
FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., thanked Lee and Paul for "standing up to legislate in the best interests of Americans" and particularly of the beneficiaries of the 9/11 victims fund.
The House passed the bill earlier this month 402-12. It now heads to President Donald Trump's desk, where he is expected to sign it.
