Pallone Announces Action on 9/11 Bill

September 12, 2009

CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE, JR.
District of New Jersey

September 12, 2009  Richard McGrath/Tali Israeli 202 246 6721

New York City  -  U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., announced on Tuesday that he will be scheduling a mark-up of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009 in the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee at the end of this month.  At the same time, Pallone, who chairs the Health Subcommittee, urged all supporters of the measure to mobilize and to press other members of the subcommittee to provide enough votes for approval.

"We can start the momentum with a mark-up, but we need to generate enough support to get it voted out of the subcommittee," said Pallone. "The emergency responders put their lives on the line when they were needed, we should respond to their needs now."

Thousands of emergency workers, volunteers and members of the local community went to Ground Zero in the hours and days following the attack on the World Trade Center and now are suffering from chronic conditions caused by the tons of dust, glass fibers and other toxins from the site. The 9/11 bill would provide medical treatment for them. It would also establish a monitoring program to detect and track any future health problems.

"The first responders were told there were no contaminants at the site," said Pallone. "They didn′t stop to ask questions or slow down out of fear. The took action when they were needed in the hope they could save lives. We have a moral obligation to step up to treat their medical problems."

The bill would:

• Establish a federal health and compensation program for 9/11 responders and community members.
• Provide ongoing medical care of 9/11 health conditions to approximately 15,000 additional WTC responders and 15,000 additional WTC community members.
• Require a matching contribution from the City of New York for the health program.
• Reopen the Victim Compensation Fund to provide compensation for those who have been sick by 9/11 exposures and to address the over 10,000 pending lawsuits brought by sick 9/11 responders.

Studies have shown that up to 70 percent of the first responders suffer from complex resistor problems, one-third of them have pulmonary problems and one-in-eight experience post-traumatic stress conditions.