Kenya Merritt Renewing our PACT Act of 2026

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember the 2,976 souls we lost on September 11, 2001, and recognize the work and sacrifice of our law enforcement community in the days, months, and years that followed. As we approach the 25th Anniversary of that tragic day, let us never forget.

Thousands of innocent Americans would never come home. Families would be forever changed. And millions of Americans felt called to serve something larger than themselves. I was one of them.

I joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the world's premier law enforcement organization, driven by a desire to serve my country and keep Americans safe,

Today, we remember the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We honor the first responders, law enforcement officers, service members, and ordinary Americans who demonstrated extraordinary courage in our Nation's darkest hour.

But for many Americans, the consequences of September 11, 2001, did not end when the fires were extinguished or the debris was cleared. They are still living with them today.

FBI personnel who responded to the attacks and conducted the investigations and recovery efforts that followed are confronting cancers, respiratory diseases, and other serious illnesses caused by exposure to toxic substances at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, as well as during evidence-recovery operations at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island. Those illnesses have taken a terrible toll.

Today, 34 of the 107 names on the FBI's Wall of Honor belong to members of the FBI family who died either on September 11, 2001, or from illnesses linked to their response and recovery work

Nearly one-third of the names on that wall trace back to September 11, 2001, and its aftermath. That number is still growing.

Congress has long recognized our obligation to care for those whose health was harmed in the line of duty. We established and strengthened the World Trade Center Health Program to provide medical monitoring and treatment for those exposed to toxic dust and debris at Ground Zero and other 9/11 sites.

That commitment reflects a core principle of our Nation: When Americans put themselves in harm's way to protect our country, we have an obligation to stand by them.

Congress did not act alone. Organizations like the FBI Agents Association have helped uphold that commitment, working tirelessly to ensure that FBI Special Agents and other personnel affected by the attacks receive both the care they deserve and the recognition their service and sacrifice have earned.

Over the past quarter-century, Congress has gradually come to understand a difficult truth: some sacrifices are visible immediately. Others reveal themselves years later. We have an obligation to honor both.

With that understanding, Congress expanded its commitment by passing the PACT Act, providing health care and benefits to veterans suffering from illnesses associated with burn pits and other toxic exposures during overseas deployments.

As someone who served in Iraq alongside our military and civilian personnel, I know these were not distant risks. They were realities of the environment in which so many Americans carried out their mission. So, our work is not finished.

Federal civilian employees, including FBI Special Agents and other public servants, deployed alongside our military during post-9/11 operations. They breathed the same toxic air and faced many of the same hazards, but they do not receive the same presumption that certain illnesses are connected to their service. They may have worn different uniforms, but they faced the same dangers.

That is why I recently joined my colleagues in introducing H.R. 8524, the bipartisan Kenya Merritt Renewing Our PACT Act. This legislation would close that gap and ensure that federal civilian employees who served alongside our AImed Forces receive the protections they deserve.

The Kenya Merritt Renewing Our PACT Act would establish a presumption that certain diseases associated with burn pits and other toxic exposures are work-related. It would apply to eligible federal employees who served in overseas contingency operations, providing a fairer and more consistent standard for workers compensation claims involving disability or death. I am especially proud that this legislation is named for FBI Special Agent Kenya Merritt.

Kenya was many things. He was a husband. A father. A son. An athlete. An exceptional Special Agent. Above all, he lived a life of service. When our Nation called, Kenya answered. He volunteered to deploy to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving alongside members of our Armed Forces and other public servants in a dangerous environment far from home. There, he was exposed to toxic burn pits and other hazards. Years later, he developed lung cancer linked to that exposure.

But even after learning of his diagnosis, Kenya continued to serve others. He became a determined advocate for federal employees who had served alongside our military, faced many of the same toxic exposures, and yet lacked the protections available to those in uniform. Kenya passed away in 2024. But the cause he fought for lives on.

The legislation that bears his name would carry his work forward by protecting other federal employees who answered the same call to serve. This legislation recognizes a simple truth: Service is service. Sacrifice is sacrifice. We do not abandon those who served our country. And we do not leave behind those who stood shoulder to shoulder with our troops simply because they wore a different uniform.

As we mark the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, let us honor not only those we lost that day, but also those who continue to bear the physical and emotional consequences of the attacks and the conflicts that followed. Let us keep faith with all who answered our Nation's call by advancing the Kenya Merritt Renewing Our PACT Act. That is a promise worthy of the legacy of September 11, 2001.