9/11 health bill leaps major House hurdle
S.A. MillerNew York Post
September 30, 2010
WASHINGTON -- The House yesterday passed a long-stalled 9/11 health bill, with New York lawmakers leading the charge that put first responders a step closer to government-paid medical care for illnesses blamed on toxic chemicals at Ground Zero.
The House gallery erupted with applause from dozens of city police and firefighters as the bill passed 268-160 following fierce debate.
"To the living victims of 9/11, we have good news: Help is on the way," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan and Queens), who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan and Brooklyn) and Rep. Peter King (R-LI).
King called the vote a "long overdue" victory for police, firefighters and construction workers who toiled at Ground Zero.
The vote split closely along party lines. Just 17 Republicans supported it and three Democrats voted against it.
The legislation, titled the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, was named after an NYPD officer who responded on 9/11 and later died of respiratory disease that was the first case attributed to exposure at Ground Zero.
But the cause of death was disputed by the city Medical Examiner's Office, which in 2007 determined Zadroga died from injecting ground-up prescription drugs.
The $7.4 billion bill, which would give health benefits to first responders sickened at Ground Zero, survived a blistering floor debate and an attempt by Republicans to derail it with procedural moves.
The bill now heads to an uncertain fate in the Senate.
Mayor Bloomberg called the House vote "a significant moment in a fight we have waged for years."
"It's not enough to pass a bill in the House -- we need to make this legislation law," he said.
Gov. Paterson said he will "implore all senators to pay the debt our nation owes to the heroes of 9/11 and pass this critical legislation."
Republicans criticized the bill for being another big-government entitlement program, spending billions of dollars America can't afford and reopening the costly compensation fund that had already settled with 9/11 victims.
They also balked at the bill's new tax on foreign companies doing business in the United States that is intended to pay for the medical care, saying the tax could cost American jobs.
"Everybody certainly honors all the 9/11 responders. But at the same time, billions and billions and billions were paid under a claims process, and it is an unfortunate reality that America is on the road to bankruptcy," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), a member of President Obama's commission on government debt.