9/11 Victim's Daughter: Families Still Demand Justice 25 Years On

There’s something bracing about watching Angela Mistrulli show up at the Republican convention and talk about her dad, Fred, who was killed on 9/11. Not in the past tense way Washington prefers, where everyone applauds and moves on. She’s there with other families because the clock is ticking again, and Congress still hasn’t done what it should have done a long time ago. This isn’t a memorial. It’s a demand.

The issue here is the USVSST Fund, and the deadline is Sept. 30. That’s not a talking point. That’s a real cutoff date that forces a simple question: will lawmakers fund the program that’s supposed to support victims and families, or will they let it limp along until the next crisis forces another round of speeches and photo ops? If Congress can pass spending bills at 2 a.m., it can meet this deadline.

We don’t love the habit in Washington of treating 9/11 families like props, especially when the cameras are on at a convention. The families aren’t asking for a new holiday or another resolution. They’re asking for money already promised, for a system that works, and for follow-through without drama. That should not be controversial in either party, and it should not require a last-minute scramble every year. Stop making survivors beg for basics.

Republicans should take the lead here, not because it scores points, but because it’s the grown-up thing to do in a country that still says it remembers. Fund the USVSST program before Sept. 30 and do it cleanly. Then look these families in the eye and tell them they won’t have to come back next year with the same ask. That’s what justice looks like now.