WASHINGTON?People sickened by anthrax, or survivors of people who die from it, should be eligible for compensation through a special fund created by Congress for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, a congressman said Wednesday.

Rep. Michael Capuano, D Mass., introduced a bill to expand the eligibility criteria for the fund, created last month as part of a $15 billion airline relief package.

Capuano’s proposal is a long way from becoming law. It initially drew about 40 cosponsors, mostly Democrats.

Details of the fund are still being worked out.

According to those who wrote the fund legislation, and lawyers who examined it, the fund does not limit awards, which are to be based on lost income, suffering and other factors. Those who use the fund would be barred from suing the airlines, American and United, whose jets were turned into suicide weapons.

The fund will be administered by the Department of Justice, with claims overseen by a special master appointed by Attorney General John Ashcroft.