Susan Edelman, New York Post
Mayor de Blasio’s inaction on what to do with a stash of $326 million in federal 9/11 funds could hurt the effort to pass a bill to give more aid to sick and dying 9/11 workers, Rep. Peter King warns.
In September, New York lawmakers in Washington introduced a bill to extend the $2.7 billion federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which expires next fall.
The fund gives medical and financial aid to responders and downtown residents sickened by toxic dust from the World Trade Center attacks.
But King (R-LI) told The Post he fears congressional opponents will cite the city’s nest egg as ammunition against the bill.
“How the hell can we be giving you more money when you have all this money just sitting there?” King said critics will ask.
The city-governed WTC Captive Insurance Co., which managed $1 billion in funds to pay Ground Zero cleanup claims, is sitting on $326 million after it paid a $680 million settlement to some 10,000 cops, firefighters and other Ground Zero workers.
Before leaving office last year, Mayor Mike Bloomberg proposed turning over $270 million to billionaire Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, which would provide a $600 million insurance policy and assume liability for future WTC claims.
De Blasio has yet to tackle the plan, let alone act on it, sources say.
The entity spends more than $2 million a year on staff and other operating expenses despite only three lawsuits pending as of September 30.
“The de Blasio administration has been totally nonresponsive on this,” said King, calling the mayor’s foot-dragging “frustrating.”
King said he favors returning the city’s stash to the feds to pay 9/11 claims and giving the city immunity from future suits.
Mayoral spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said, “Over the last year, the de Blasio administration has worked to ensure that WTC Captive is run as efficiently as possible.”
