James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act

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Firefighters who dealt with the agony and horror of September 11, 2001 are now confronting a new battle. After the closing of the 9/11 Compensation Fund  on December 31, 2003, they joined with other emergency responders in the fight to get compensation and medical attention for the ailments they are facing after sifting through debris in the many months following the terrorist attack.

"We have had an increase occurrence of cancers and upper respiratory ailments, asthma. We have had one lieutenant, Marty Fullam, [who] required a double lung transplant. He's a young man with a young family. It definitely attributed to 9/11, and believe it or not, the every day post-traumatic stress syndrome, which is another problem that we are coping with," said Deputy Chief Richard Alles with the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.

Organizations like the New York Uniformed Fire Officers Association thought the solution to the problem was the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named in honor of the first police officer whose death, due to a respiratory disease, was determined to be directly tied to working at Ground Zero.

Deputy Chief Alles explained, "What that will mean will be permanent funding for the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program, the establishment of centers of excellence throughout the country. Currently anyone who is not in a New York area, or may have been in a New York area, worked at 9/11 and now has moved to another state, if they need to have any kind of medical services, they would have to return to New York state. This would allow them to get their treatment in another state. Also, reopening of the Victims Compensation Fund."

According to OpenCongress.org, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health the World Trade Center Health (WTC) Program to provide:

(1) Medical monitoring and treatment benefits to eligible emergency responders and recovery and cleanup workers who responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; and
(2) Initial health evaluation, monitoring, and treatment benefits to residents and other building occupants and area workers who were directly impacted and adversely affected by such attacks. Requires the WTC program administrator to:

(1) Implement a quality assurance program;
(2) Establish the WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee;
(3) Establish the WTC Responders Steering Committee and the WTC Community Program Steering Committee;
(4) Provide for education and outreach on services under the WTC program;
(5) Provide for the uniform collection of data related to WTC-related health conditions;
(6) Conduct research on physical and mental health conditions that may be related to the September 11 terrorist attacks; and
(7) Extend and expand arrangements with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide for the World Trade Center Health Registry. Authorizes the administrator to make grants to the Department to address mental health needs relating to the terrorist attacks. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to:
•    Make individuals eligible for compensation under the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 for harm as a result of debris removal; and
•    Extend the deadline for making a claim for compensation.

But the House of Representatives recently voted down the 7.4 billion dollar measure, causing a huge outcry in the fire service community.

"If you recall, there was a famous photo-op of the [former] President of the United States who stood on a pile of debris at Ground Zero with his arm draped around the shoulder of a New York City firefighter, and he promised us that the federal government would stand behind us. I believed it. As all of our officers and firefighters and volunteers believed it," expressed Deputy Chief Richard Alles. "And yet it seems that there are certain elements in our federal government that would leave us behind. Calling us an 'Entitlement Program' or pegging it as a New York issue. It's not a New York issue. It's an American issue that simply happened to occur in New York City, because most people look at New York, as the terrorists do, as the capital of the world."

New hope is emerging as elected officials announced last week that the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Action will be reintroduced on the House floor on September 20, 2010.   This time, passage seems likely because it will be voted on "under regular order" which requires only a simple majority vote, which law makers are confident they can achieve.  The first time it was introduced under "two-thirds majority", which its supporters were unable to get.  The two-thirds majority stipulation had been imposed on the bill in an attempt by Democrats to prevent Republicans from adding amendments to it.

"The votes are there," vowed Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.). "If this comes up for a vote the week of Sept. 20 - and I'm gratified to hear that it will - it will pass." 


Author:Wendy Gillette - FDNNTV.com