S. 5385: 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.

This bill would direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse certain public employee retirement systems for the costs of accidental disability retirements and accidental death benefits connected to rescue, recovery, and cleanup work after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

What the payment would cover

The reimbursement would apply when a retirement system has to pay benefits to members who became disabled, or died, because of work they did in the aftermath of 9/11 at the World Trade Center site. The bill says the money can only be used by the public employee retirement system that receives it, and not for any other purpose.

Who would be eligible

The bill defines an eligible public employee retirement system as one that includes at least one member who took part in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations related to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Funding

The bill authorizes $5,913,400,000 for FEMA to carry out this reimbursement program in fiscal year 2027. This means Congress would be allowing that amount of money to be appropriated for this purpose, but actual spending would still depend on the appropriations process.

Practical effect

In practical terms, the bill would shift some of the financial burden for these benefit costs away from state or local retirement systems and toward the federal government, through FEMA. It is focused specifically on benefit costs tied to 9/11-related rescue, recovery, and cleanup work.

Relevant Companies

None found