The Health and Compensation Act, which passed in the House already, was created to offer health care to police and firefighters who were first on the scene during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, after many emergency workers got long-term illnesses while working in the tower dust.
The two senators announced on Sunday, Dec. 19 in a joint press release that they have made alterations to the bill, including trimming the bill’s price tag by $1.2 billion—from $7.4 billion to $6.2 billion after a settlement was reached last month with many of the ill Ground Zero workers—which should help ease some cost concerns from Republicans and be able to win enough of their support.
The senators hope the changes can pave the way for the bill’s final passage before the end of 2010.
"I believe we now have more than enough votes to pass this legislation,” said Gillibrand. “We have been working extremely closely with a number of Republicans and have made a series of changes to the bill. Americans will be watching closely over the next few days and expecting the Senate to do what is right and fulfill our moral obligation to these heroes.”
In response to concerns raised by the Republicans, Gillibrand and Schumer introduced new ways to pay for the bill.
Rather than depending on the House-passed offset that closed foreign tax loopholes, the new bill would impose a two-percent excise fee on certain foreign companies that receive U.S. government contracts, which should raise about $4.5 billion over a decade, the two senators said.
If Gillibrand and Schumer are successful in pushing the modified bill through the Senate this week, the House of Representative would have to pass the measure again with the new offsets.
