On to the Senate: The people's house at long last passed the James Zadroga 9/11
EditorialDaily News
September 30, 2010
The House of Representatives - the people's house - yesterday took the landmark step of at long last voting to fulfill America's obligation to the men and women who rallied to serve their country at a time of war and paid dearly for their valorous labors.
Wonderful it was that the House passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. How uplifting it is to know again that Washington is capable of doing a noble thing.
Once, that was taken for granted - as it was in 1942, when Congress provided health care and financial relief to civilians who braved toxic gases and jagged steel to
recover the dead and salvage the fleet at Pearl Harbor.
The differences between then and now are scant, except for the unseemly length of time that passed between the modern-day attack and yesterday's vote.
No, the battle is not yet won, the debt not yet repaid. The Senate must pass the measure and send it to President Obama, who has said he awaits affixing his signature. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand must deliver it forthwith.
Time is of the essence. The $7.4 billion legislation would provide medical care and monitoring to the thousands of rescue and recovery workers who suffered irreparable respiratory ailments from breathing poison fumes on and around The Pile.
The bill would also reopen the 9/11 victims' compensation fund to people who were shut out of the initial program because their illnesses surfaced after it was closed.
These are among the 10,000 who were forced into costly litigation and now face difficult decisions on whether to accept a settlement offer.
They need clarity. They need justice. Hope runs high - and great thanks are in order.
They are owed to those who fought so hard for so long. Among this group are John Feal, a demolition supervisor who lost a part of a foot at the site; Joseph Zadroga, father of the bill's namesake, a detective who fell victim to fatal pulmonary fibrosis, and New York AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes, who brought union influence to bear.
Also richly deserving of thanks are Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler, Pete King and Eliot Engel, and former Rep. Vito Fossella. They were the driving forces behind the legislation for more than six years, often powered behind the scenes by Maloney's chief of staff, Ben Chevat.
The vote was 268 to 160 after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi served the national interest by bringing the bill to the floor. Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thanks also to 17 Republicans who broke ranks to do right.
Among those on the wrong side of history was, incredibly, a New Yorker. Republican Rep. Chris Lee, from outside Buffalo, was a co-sponsor - yet shamefully tried to torpedo the bill in the end. Et tu, Mr. Lee?