Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday in regards to a bipartisan agreement on the 9/11 First Responders Bill:

“I’m delighted the Senate was able to reach an agreement on a bill to provide healthcare for the men and women who helped in the rescue, recovery and clean-up efforts after the 9/11 attacks.

“In the years since then, as we all know, a number of these brave Americans have become ill. Today represents an important step in making sure they receive the care they need as a result of their service.

“No one has ever questioned whether to provide the care they need. The only question was how to do so.

“Like many of my colleagues, I’ve been concerned that attempts to rush this legislation at the end of the session would prevent us from ensuring that this bill was written in a responsible fashion.

“And I still believe this cause and this legislation would have benefited from the bipartisan committee process.

“But thanks to the hard work of a number of senators, most notably Senators Coburn and Enzi, and their staffs, we’ve gone a long way in improving this bill.

“We’ve made sure that more compensation will go to victims than trial lawyers. It’s got improved oversight, so money isn’t siphoned away from the people who really need it.

“We’ve put time limits on the legislation, so Congress can come back and review what’s worked and where improvements can be made.

“So this is a much better product.

“Some have tried to portray this debate as a debate between those who support 9/11 workers and those who don’t.

“This is a gross distortion of the facts.

“There was never any doubt about supporting the first responders.

“It was about doing it right.”

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