‘Feels like yesterday’: 9/11 victim’s daughter says families still fighting for justice 25 years later

DALLAS – Twenty-five years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Angela Mistrulli said, “It feels like forever, but it also feels like yesterday.”

Mistrulli, whose father was killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, is the founder of American Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism (AVSSTU), which represents victims and families impacted by terrorist attacks.

She spoke with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention, where she and other 9/11 family members, Gold Star families, and families of civilian victims were pressing to meet with political leaders on an urgent mission as the clock ticked towards a critical deadline.

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“Congress created the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism (USVSST) Fund. It was supposed to be a place for all victims to be able to go and receive some sort of relief. It was a lifeline to over 22,000 victims,” Mistrulli explained. “Unfortunately, that fund has run dry, and September 30 is the fiscal deadline for Congress to act in order for victims to receive relief.”

Established in 2015, the USVSST Fund has provided over $10 billion to victims harmed by international state-sponsored terrorism, including personal representatives for those who lost their lives from acts of terrorism such as the 9/11 attacks.

Mistrulli emphasized that 25 years after the 9/11 attacks, “We are still fighting for justice, transparency, recognition, and relief that Congress promised us.”

“We’re here not only to memorialize the 25th anniversary of 9/11, but also to try to get some face time with these leaders and these higher ups to be able to discuss this urgent and critical topic,” she added.

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With the fiscal year cutoff approaching Sept. 30, Congress would need to authorize additional funding for victims holding unpaid terrorism judgments to be paid. A bipartisan group of lawmakers from New York introduced a bill in July that would require the U.S. Department of the Treasury to loan $3 billion annually to the fund for fiscal years 2027, 2028 and 2029.

The bill, H.R. 9795, was named after Mistrulli’s father — the Never Forget the Victims of Terrorism: Joseph D. Mistrulli and Alan Kleinberg USVSST Fund Solvency Act.

The Department of Justice has acknowledged that available USVSST funds remain insufficient to fully compensate victims’ claims that have been and are anticipated to continue to grow.

Mistrulli and members of the AVSSTU were at the midterm convention to push to influence members of Congress in voting to authorize continued funding for victims as the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks concludes the week of convention activities in Dallas.

Their effort paid off, as they met Thursday evening with President Donald Trump.

“Meeting with the President last night, it was clear to me how genuinely empathetic he was to our fight for American victims of state-sponsored terrorism. He listened, and I could tell this isn’t just a policy issue to him, it felt personal,” Mistrulli told Fox News Digital on Friday.

“We are now working with members of the Administration on a legislative path forward this year for the USVSST Fund, which is a vital lifeline for over 22,000 American victims of terrorism, including 9/11 families,” she added. This is about our moral obligation to victims and our promise to never forget.”

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The AVSSTU team was invited to participate in the 9/11 25th anniversary commemorations held in Dallas.

“This is a hard one this year. 25 years. It feels like forever, but it also feels like yesterday, and it’s also disappointing because I feel like our country has come so far away from who we were on September 12th,” Mistrulli said. “It’s also exhausting that it’s been 25 years of us fighting for justice.”

“We have now been divided as a nation and my wish to everyone out there as we commemorate this anniversary, memorialize, never forget by coming back together.”