N.Y. Politicians Will Push to Extend 9/11 Care Act, but It’s a Tough Sell
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Pete King (R-L.I.) on Monday will announce legislation to extend the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides treatment and compensation for sick 9/11 responders, until 2041. Supporters fear Republicans won’t be friendly to the extension.
Firefighters are seen making their way over the ruins and through clouds of smoke at the World Trade Center in October of 2001. Many of the first responders and those who labored at the site in the months following the attacks suffer from a variety of respiratory ailments and other illnesses.WASHINGTON — Ahead of the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, New York lawmakers are launching what they say will be a tough fight to extend a law providing health care and compensation to first responders and others sickened by toxic air after 9/11.
Joined by Mayor de Blasio, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Pete King (R-L.I.) will announce at a Monday news conference legislation in both congressional chambers to extend the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
The act, passed in late 2010 after a long fight, authorizes programs providing medical treatment and compensation for sick 9/11 responders. The health program expires in October 2015, and the compensation program ends in October 2016.
The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named for NYPD Officer James Zadroga (left), provides medical care and compensation for sick 9/11 responders and others.The expiration dates are the result of a 2010 legislative deal with Republicans that allowed passage of the bill by holding down its cost.
Advocates of the program now face a tough fight for its renewal with 30,000 9/11 responders, area residents and workers already receiving treatment for illness deemed related to the attack.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and other New York lawmakers on Monday will announce legislation in both chambers to extend the law until 2041 — a date that would likely be whittled down in negotiations.The bills propose extending the programs for a whopping 25 years, through 2041. That’s an opening bid expected to be whittled down in congressional negotiations.
(From left) Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and Pete King (R-L.I.) will join Gillibrand in announcing the bills to extend the program, but they’re facing a tough fight.
Common, chronic sicknesses that resulted from breathing toxic air around Ground Zero include asthma, obstructive pulmonary disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease. More than 2,900 people were diagnosed with cancer caused or worsened by the aftermath of the attacks.
The sick include 800 current or past FDNY members and 550 NYPD members.
The lawmakers will be backed by Mayor de Blasio.An additional 70 firefighters and 60 NYPD officers have already died of 9/11-linked illnesses.
“These brave men and women did not think twice before risking their lives in service to our nation,” Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “Congress has a duty to continue to stand by them in the years ahead by providing the health care and compensation that our 9/11 heroes and their families need and deserve.”
Supporters of the legislation fear that if Republicans recapture control of the Senate and retain control of the House in November’s elections, their chances of extending the bill will be doomed.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/n-y-politicians-push-extend-9-11-care-act-article-1.1931570
