Times A Cloud of Smoke, Jennifer Kahn, The New Yorker , September 15, 2008 9/11 First Responder John Feal Calls on Senate to Pass Zadroga Bill, video report, Democracy Now! , December 22, 2010
As Ground Zero responders demanded the President push harder on the Zadroga health bill, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs seemed to pawn that job off on "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.
It began when the office of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins sicced Capitol police officers on the former firefighters, construction workers and cops on their way in. ; It ended hours later with reconciliation when the first responders met with Collins’ top aides – and left believing they have a deal to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. ; “At first we were insulted, but in hindsight, we’re flattered,” 9/11 advocate John Feal said. “We can look past this because we believe Sen. Collins will support our bill. ; “Both her and [Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa] Murkowski’s office said to us, ‘If your bill goes on the floor next week, it will pass,’ ” Feal said. That was good enough for him.
The bipartisan group of lawmakers who have long fought for the legislation aren’t ready to celebrate just yet. But they’re finally feeling like the GOP-controlled Congress is ready to make good on its promise to care for America’s heroes after months of delays in funding the Zadroga Act, which expired in the fall and would have run out of money early next year without Congressional action. “This is a major bipartisan victory for the survivors and responders who were counting on us to get this done,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said. ...
WASHINGTON — The first responders and politicians who fought to reauthorize the Zadroga Act for 9/11 survivors took a victory lap Wednesday after it was included in a piece of must-pass legislation. “I’m ecstatic. Our holiday wish came true and the survivors and responders have permanent healthcare,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who has led the fight in the House since the Sept. 11 attacks, told the Daily News. “This is why I love my work.” · “This is an amazing victory,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on a conference call, ...
On December 22, 2010, Congress approved the final bill, which allocated $4.2 billion towards the program, and President Barack Obama signed the Zadroga Act into law on January 2, 2011. This...
WASHINGTON — Advocates for the survivors of 9/11 are furious at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for blocking passage of the Zadroga Act. They see the Kentucky Republican as the last and only obstacle for sick heroes to get funding for their much-needed medical care as they tramp down once again to Washington, D.C., Thursday to demand action and lawmakers scramble to find a way to save the program. After promising not to stand in the way of the bill if everyone else could agree on how to pass it, McConnell seemingly did just that. ...
“There was nothing lame about this Congress,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) quipped about the flurry of bills passed in the final days of the postelection session. Democrats managed to get their ducks in a row and help resuscitate Obama with some luck – and some well-played chess just weeks after what Obama bemoaned as a “shellacking” in the elections. “Pundits wanted to write him off, but President Obama went right back to work and we delivered,” said Gillibrand, who gained national attention for championing the 9/11 health ca ...
GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz can’t have it both ways. ; He can’t call himself a supporter of New York City’s police officers when he voted against the Zadroga Bill. ; Cruz talks of New York City values! Those were the same values that brought first responders to the scene of the nation’s worst terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. ; Those are the values that resulted in the death of 23 brave New York City police officers that day in the collapse of the World Trade Center, and the hundreds more who are sick, dying or already dead from exposure to toxic chemicals.
the Zadroga Bill, which provides aid to 9/11 first responders suffering from related health problems. “So no more co-opting 9/11 imagery to get yourselves elected,” he added. “No more...