Obama Signs 9/11 Health Bill
US President Barack Obama signed a benefits bill on Sunday that will help police, firefighters and other emergency workers who became ill after working in the area around the World Trade Center towers that collapsed on 9/11. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which amends the Public Health Service Act to provide extra medical and other benefits to first-responders at the site of the Sept. 11 attacks, was one of the last measures Congress passed before adjourning in December.
Senate Approves James Zadroga 9/11 Health Bill
WASHINGTON – To the ill and dying Americans who answered the call after 9/11: Merry Christmas, help finally is on the way. More than nine years after the worst foreign attack in U.S. history, the Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to pass the $4.3 billion James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act. It gives medical care and […]
Chamber Lobbied Against 9/11 Health Bill to Save on Taxes
The US Chamber of Commerce lobbied to kill a bill that would have helped cover medical expenses and compensation for first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to documents available online. The Chamber’s aim was to keep open a tax loophole benefiting foreign corporations that the $7.4 billion bill would have closed to provide funding for the American emergency workers.
Republican Senator Calls Cops on 9/11 First Responders
A group of nine 9/11 first responders who arrived in Washington, DC, to pressure Congress into passing a health care bill were met with an unwelcome surprise: A police escort, courtesy of Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. Snowe called Capitol Police when she heard the activists were planning to arrive on the Hill and […]
9/11 First Responder: "It's the Ultimate Betrayal"
Republicans filibustered the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act on Thursday, blocking the start of debate on the bill because they want to see tax cuts passed first. Manhattan Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney ripped the move as “immoral” and “truly sad.” “I was a registered Republican. I have no idea what I am now,” said Ray Simons, 60, a retired FDNY ambulance worker who said he’s ill from two weeks at The Pile. “For senators to turn this down, it’s like, oh, my God, it’s the ultimate betrayal.”
Republicans Block Health Aid for 9/11 Workers
“Republicans denied adequate health care to the heroes who developed illnesses from rushing into burning buildings on 9/11,” he said. “Yet they will stop at nothing to give tax breaks to millionaires and C.E.O.’s, even though they will explode our deficit and fail to create jobs. That tells you everything you need to know about their priorities.”
Bitter Fight Over Zadroga 9/11 Compensation Act
WASHINGTON – Anger boiled over a risky plan to pass 9/11 legislation on Wednesday, with Republicans accusing Democrats of cowardice and Democrats crying politics. Democrats will try to pass the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act today – but they’re using a special rule that requires a two-thirds vote to pass. They say they need […]