Dear Friends,

As many of you may know, last week the House voted on my 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, H.R. 847, which would provide medical monitoring, treatment, and economic compensation for those exposed to toxic cloud that lingered for weeks following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

Emotions ran high during the debate, and I was deeply disappointed that the bill did not achieve the two-thirds majority required for passage under suspension of the House rules. But the battle to provide help to the heroes, heroines, and survivors of 9/11 isn’t over -- not by a long shot.

The 255 votes in favor of the bill, including 12 Republicans, show that it would have more than enough support to pass the House if it is reconsidered under normal rules, which require only a simple majority, or 218 votes, for passage.

I find it astonishing that during a week when Congress approved billions in new funding for the war in Afghanistan, the House dealt a setback to our bill to address the impact of the event that caused the war in the first place: the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The New York Times editorial below states that the House must put partisanship aside and give the 9/11 health bill a second vote requiring only a simple majority for passage. I couldn’t agree more, and it’s my top priority to bring the bill to the House floor under normal procedures after Congress reconvenes in September -- and finally pass it.

I thank my good friends and cosponsors Jerry Nadler and Pete King and our colleagues in the New York delegation for their dedication to those who were harmed by the terrorist attacks on our nation. We will not rest until we finally provide proper care for ailing 9/11 responders and survivors, and fill the last remaining gap in America’s recovery from the attacks.

Nine long years after the attacks, the living victims of 9/11 are still suffering. We must pass this bill to help them. It is the least we can do as a grateful nation.

Very Truly Yours,

CAROLYN B. MALONEY
Member of Congress

P.S. Please feel free to share this email with anyone who may be interested in these issues.  As always, I appreciate your comments and invite you to write to me through my website. Please do not respond to this unattended email account. I look forward to hearing from you!

Dear Neighbor,

The House is in its last week of its efforts before the start of the August District Work Period.

On the agenda is a Joint Economic Committee hearing on Clean Energy Innovation; a two-day Financial Services Committee session (where we'll be marking up seven bills); and an Oversight and Government Reform hearing on sanctions against Iran. Also scheduled: the CLEAR Act, which includes a project I have long fought for: abolishing the wasteful "royalty-in-kind" program within the Dept. of Interior.

The House is also scheduled to address a longstanding injustice: the health and well-being of the workers and residents at or around Ground Zero. I will keep you posted on the results of that work, and the rest of this week's actions.

Last week, I was pleased to see that the Senate finally voted to extend unemployment insurance benefits, injecting immediate cash into the economy as the beneficiaries spend their checks on household needs. 

Unfortunately, we still await Senate passage of the Small Business Lending Fund Act, H.R. 5297, which I co-sponsored and passed the House, which will provide much-needed funds and credit to small businesses who expand and hire new employees. The Senate also has not acted on H.R. 5019 (Home Star Energy Retrofit Act), H.R. 5116 (America COMPETES Act), H.R. 2847 (the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act), or H.R. 4849 (Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act).

The House is continuing to work on job creation strategies to regain the 8.5 million jobs lost since the start of the Great Recession; it's been my focus as Chair of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Thanks to the stimulus, we have reversed the job losses and have gained 593,000 private sector jobs in the first half of 2010.  But more remains to be done, and I will keep you apprised.

This e-newsletter brings you up to date on other recent activities.