source: CBC Jan 3, 2011
US President Barack Obama signed a benefits bill on Sunday that will help police, firefighters and other emergency workers who became ill after working in the area around the World Trade Center towers that collapsed on 9/11.
Obama Signs 9/11 Health Bill
January 3, 2011
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Posted by Brian
‘U.S.’ Chamber Of Commerce Lobbied To Help GOP Kill Bill To Provide Health Care To 9/11 First Responders
December 17, 20109/11 Blogger has carried the Jon Stewart episode mentioned in the piece below, click here to watch it.
source: Think Progress Dec 17, 2010
Last night, the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart skewered Republicans for killing deficit neutral legislation to provide health care to the 9/11 first responders and emergency workers who suffered illnesses from working at Ground Zero. He also mocked the celebrity-obsessed media that has completely ignored the story. Republicans, like Sen. John Thune (R-SD), filibustered the bill because they said tax cuts for the richest 2 percent were a higher priority for Congress. While Republicans quietly snuffed out efforts to compensate 9/11 heroes, they were aided by a quiet lobbying campaign by the powerful lobbying front — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber fought to help kill the 9/11 compensation bill because it was funded by ending a special tax loophole exploited by foreign corporations doing business in the United States.
The “U.S.” part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a misnomer. As ThinkProgress reported, the Chamber represents dozens of foreign businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Bahrain, India, Brazil, and other countries. An investigation of the Chamber turned up recent fundraising documents from the Chamber soliciting foreign contributions to the Chamber’s 501(c)(6), the tax entity the Chamber used to run nasty campaign ads against Democrats earlier this year.
In September, the Chamber sent a letter officially opposing the 9/11 first responders bill, called the “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.” The Chamber warned that ending the tax loophole would “damage U.S. relationships with major trading partners” and “aggravate already unsettled financial markets.” A lobbying disclosure filed with the Senate confirms the Chamber contacted lawmakers to help kill the bill.
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Posted by Brian
9/11 First Responder Health Care Bill Vetoed
December 11, 2010Nor Cal Truth Dec 11, 2010
The airwaves are filled with blame for Republicans for not passing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Bill, yet that is the short-sighted view of a very long and unnecessarily drawn out issue. Blame is across the board for the last 9 years of delays.
1,000 9/11 first responders have died already, the latest being 46 year-old NYPD member Kevin Czartoryski.
In my opinion we don’t have Republicans or Democrats in the Senate: ONLY CRIMINALS
Sen. Kristin Gillibrand rightly points to what THE ROOT problem has always been; “Our Government told them that the ‘air was safe…that the air was safe to breathe.’”
3 Comments | 9/11, First Responders of Ground Zero, health | Tagged: 9/11, air, first responders, ground zero, health, james zadroga | Permalink
Posted by Brian
Sept. 11 Workers Agree to Settle Health Lawsuits
November 21, 2010related: 9/11 First Responder Death toll Nears 1,000
related: Dust to Dust; The Health Effects of 9/11
source: NY Times Nov 21, 2010
After a wrenching seven-year battle, more than 10,000 workers who sued New York City over health damages they claimed after the 9/11 recovery efforts have approved a settlement, clearing the way for payouts totaling at least $625 million, lawyers said Friday.
Their responses, delivered to a federal judge in Manhattan, ended months of wrangling over whether the city and its contractors were shortchanging the workers for the respiratory and other illnesses they developed after toiling in the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center.
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Posted by Brian
Two 9/11 First Responders Die of Cancer Within one Week of Court Settlement
November 21, 2010related: NYC, 9/11 first responders finalize settlement
related: 9/11 First Responder Death toll Nears 1,000
related: Dust to Dust; The Health Effects of 9/11
Nor Cal Truth Nov 21, 2010
This article from NY Daily News details the passing of another NYPD officer due to 9/11 related health effects:
The sacrifice of a cancer-stricken city cop laid to rest Tuesday was held aloft by union leaders in the push to aid ill Ground Zero responders.
“He died from a rare cancer that literally ate his face,” Lynch said, flanked by other officers. “The young man that joined this police department withered away and died because he was willing to put his life on the line and respond on Sept. 11 – and not leave until our job was done.”
Lynch was supposed to be in Washington with other members of the New York delegation to press for passage of a bill that would help the families of injured Ground Zero heroes like Mahmoud.
The following article from Newsday is from just after the court settlement:
Robert Ehmer of East Meadow had planned to use his share of the settlement for Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers to pay for treatment that his Medicare insurance wouldn’t cover, his sister Annette Ehmer said.
Ehmer, a 20-year New York City police officer, lost a three-year battle with kidney cancer Sunday, dying at the Hospice Inn in Melville. He was 47.
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Posted by Brian
9/11 Rescue Workers Have Until Monday to Accept $800 Million Settlement
November 11, 2010source: Raw Story Nov 11, 2010
Thousands of rescue workers sickened after the September 11 attacks in New York have until the end of Monday to accept a settlement that could near 800 million dollars.
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Posted by Brian
As Death Toll of 9/11 Responders Nears 1,000, Pols Want Autopsy Standards to Pinpoint Causes
November 11, 2010source: NY Daily News Nov 11, 2010
The staggering death toll for Ground Zero responders has soared past 916 – and still no one knows what really killed them.
Now, nine years after the terror attacks, doctors and some New York lawmakers are urging the federal Department of Health and Human Services to draft autopsy protocols to pinpoint 9/11-related fatalities, the Daily News has learned.
Astonishingly, there are no written standards to help doctors diagnose post-9/11 deaths, leaving a void that’s wreaked enormous emotional pain and conflict on survivors.
“It was heart-wrenching,” said Joe Zadroga, who watched his NYPD officer son, James, slowly deteriorate from scarred lungs until he died in 2007.
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Posted by Brian
New 9/11 Memorial for Fallen First Responders
October 8, 2010Only 24 names will be displayed for now, but that doesn’t change the fact that over 900 first responders have passed due to their 9/11 related diseases.
source: Wall St. Journal Oct 8, 2010
Firefighters and emergency-medical technicians who died of illnesses related to their service at the World Trade Center will be memorialized with a special plaque to be installed by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Fire Department Commissioner Salvatore Cassano announced Wednesday.
The plaque will stand parallel to the Memorial Wall of Honor at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn, which enshrines the names of those who died while in the line of duty. According to the firefighters union, the move marks a change in the FDNY’s stance on memorializing those who died of illness relating to 9/11. Union officials said they have been lobbying for years for a place on the Wall of Honor.
Mr. Cassano made the announcement during an annual memorial service that honors the members of the FDNY who died in the past year. This year, 14 members were memorialized, all of whom died as active members of the department but not while on duty. Mr. Cassano said three of them were victims of illnesses traced to their service at Ground Zero.
“In the years since Sept. 11th, we’ve realized that our jobs have become dangerous in ways that none of us could have ever imagined,” he said.
Those who gathered for the ceremony at the Firemen’s Memorial Monument on the Upper West Side, which included the families of the fallen, offered tepid applause. Initially, 24 names will be engraved into the memorial plaque which will include firefighters and emergency medical technicians, officials said.
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Posted by Brian
House Passes 9/11 Health Care Bill
September 30, 2010source: NY Times Sep 30, 2010
The House on Wednesday approved legislation to provide billions of dollars for medical treatment to rescue workers and residents of New York City who suffered illnesses from breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke at ground zero.
The vote was 268 to 160, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats in support of the bill. Opposing the measure were 157 Republicans and three Democrats. Republicans raised concerns about the $7.4 billion cost of the program.
The bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate. Republicans have enough votes to filibuster the measure, and Senate Democrats have not shown great interest in bringing the measure to the floor.
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Posted by Brian
Update on HR 847 From John Feal
September 22, 2010by John Feal source: 9/11 Truth News Sep 22, 2010
Dear Friends, Supporters and Fellow First Responders:
As most of you are aware, the past twenty-four hours have been extremely chaotic in regards to the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. I, along with fellow FealGood Foundation board members, have worked with various union leaders to keep the pressure on our elected officials. As of approximately 5:30 today our bill was moved into the “Rules Committee” of the United States House of Representatives and prepared for full House vote. While a modest victory, this should be considered a step forward to our ultimate goal. However, to our great displeasure, a date for such a vote has not yet been announced. This is unacceptable and over the next twenty-four hours we will continue to place additional pressure on leadership to give us the date we have waited nine years for.
Make no mistake, all involved in this struggle consider it an insult of the highest degree that we are forced to continue to lobby House leaders to merely place this bill on calendar. Despite this, we have been advised that the bill will be given a date for vote tomorrow, September 22, 2010. While promises to this fragile community have been made and broken so many times that I do not expect you to believe this one, we must respect the leadership our New York Congressional Delegation has provided and rely on them to ensure that this promise is kept. Tomorrow, the 9/11 community expects to be able to celebrate its victory at the same time Democratic leaders from around the country converge on New York for political appearances and fundraising.
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Posted by Brian
Democrats Attach 9/11 Health Bill to Military Funding Bill; Republicans Sure to Vote Against
September 21, 2010The catch this time is that the bill also repeals the “Dont ask, Don’t Tell” military policy that bans openly gay service members: Something that the Republicans are sure to vote against. This is a good time to watch Dust to Dust; a 9/11 First Responders documentary if you have not seen it.
NY1 has a video on the material posted below.
source: NY Daily News Sep 21, 2010
Senate Dems will try to attach 9/11 legislation to a military funding bill Tuesday in a surprise gambit to break a logjam on help for victims, the Daily News has learned.
The amendment would be identical to the $7.4 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act pending in the House. Senate passage would raise the chances of getting the measure to President Obama, who vows to sign it.
3 Comments | 9/11, First Responders of Ground Zero, health | Tagged: 9/11, first responders, health, james zadroga | Permalink
Posted by Brian
Nine Years After 9/11, 900 Responders Are Dead
September 20, 2010source: RT Sep 20, 2010
Nine hundred 9/11 heroes have died since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Thousands of others are suffering from various cancers believed to have been caused by toxins at Ground Zero. The US federal government has failed, thus far, to pass 9/11 health legislation that would assist 9/11 responders with medical care.
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Posted by Brian
Dozens of 9/11 First Make Plea in Washington D.C. to Push for Zadroga Act
September 17, 2010source: NY Daily News Sep 17, 2010
Ex-paramedic Freddy Noboa traveled 1,100 miles with his 41 medications to Washington Wednesday, hoping to get Congress to finally pass a 9/11 health bill.
He wasn’t alone.
Dozens of other Sept. 11 responders and politicians – including Mayor Bloomberg – made the trip, intent on prodding the consciences of lawmakers who next week are expected to vote on that bill.
He made it to Washington yesterday to help the cause of the $7.4billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act so people like him can get care and afford to live.
more at original source. Click Here.
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Posted by Brian
Lawyers for 9/11 Workers Are Ordered to Justify Some Fees
August 28, 2010related: Lawyers Extend Deadline For 9/11 Health Settlement due to “Unexpected Logistical Delays.”
source: NY Times Aug 28, 2010
The lawyers representing most of the ground zero workers who sued the city over health issues will be appearing in court in a new role: defending themselves.
The federal judge overseeing the cases has summoned the law partnership of two firms, Worby Groner Edelman and Napoli Bern Ripka, to a hearing on Friday to justify $6.1 million in legal expenses that they are charging their clients.
Next week, the lawyers are due back in federal court to respond to accusations of overcharging made by the other leading law firm representing workers. That firm, Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, alleges that its co-counsel is trying to inflate its fees by inappropriately charging clients more than $400,000 for publicists, lobbyists and legal and medical experts as case-related costs.
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Posted by Brian
