NEW YORK—With the nine-year commemoration of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center approaching on Saturday, thousands of victims, many of whom risked their lives to save others, are speaking out and saying that the government has abandoned them in their time of need.
Over 100 politicians and labor leaders gathered Wednesday in support of H.R. 847—the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named for the NYPD detective and first responder on the scene who subsequently died from repertory ailments.
The Zadroga Act, is up for a vote when Congress reconvenes Sept. 14. The legislation will provide health care to 9/11 victims in need, facilitate health status monitoring of those affected by the disaster, and most importantly for claimants, reopen the Victims Compensation Fund (VCF), which closed in 2003.
“For nine long years this government has failed to pay the debt that is owed to these people,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said.
Many people blame the government for failing to warn the first responders of dangers associated with working at ground zero.
Over 10,000 victims with health-related complaints have been litigating against the government for over seven years.
Just seven days after the disaster, Christine Todd Whitman of the Environmental Protection Agency, held a press conference assuring workers that health precautions were not needed.
“Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York … that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink,” she had said in a press release dated Sept. 18, 2001.
New York’s entire Congressional delegation has come out in support of the Zadroga Act.
Congressman Peter King says that he cannot go anywhere, not even to a little league game, without encountering somebody with the 9/11 cough.
“There are too many firefighters, police officers, construction workers, residents … who are walking around with pulverized glass in their lungs, who have lost their ability to breath, who are coming down with the most brutal blood disorders, cancers,” King said.
“I am here to put a face on the bill, and I will keep it simple,” said Joseph Zadroga, a retired police officer and the father of fallen first responder and NYPD Detective James Zadroga.
When James Zadroga got a call about the terrorist attacks in 2001, he was arriving home after work. After stopping to change his clothes, he left his pregnant wife of eight months crying in the driveway and headed into the chaos to help.
“They came back and they worked in ground zero, knowing that it was unsafe, seeing things that no one in this world would want to see. And then [James] went back to his family,” said Joseph Zadroga.
Detective James Zadroga inhaled dust at the site of the fallen towers that was so thick that he could not see three feet in front of him, said his father. Two weeks later, he got a cough, which got progressively worse.
Unable to afford medical treatment in addition to the baby formula, the family nurtured the baby while James Zadroga suffered the effects of having worked at the site. When he could not stand it any longer, he swallowed his pride and asked his dad for money for painkillers.
At the three-year mark, James Zadroga was discharged from work with a “work-related injury” that did not mention the cause by name. One year later, he died in the middle of the night while trying to get a bottle for his daughter.
I want my son’s death to enable help for others, said his father.
“They need the help from this country so that they can get on with their lives and at least live a decent life and take care of their families,” he added.
A vote in July under “Suspension of the Rules” did not achieve the two-thirds majority required to pass the bill in the House of Representatives. However, with 255 votes in favor, including 12 Republicans, the bill is likely to pass under normal rules.
Over 100 politicians and labor leaders gathered Wednesday in support of H.R. 847—the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named for the NYPD detective and first responder on the scene who subsequently died from repertory ailments.
The Zadroga Act, is up for a vote when Congress reconvenes Sept. 14. The legislation will provide health care to 9/11 victims in need, facilitate health status monitoring of those affected by the disaster, and most importantly for claimants, reopen the Victims Compensation Fund (VCF), which closed in 2003.
“For nine long years this government has failed to pay the debt that is owed to these people,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said.
Many people blame the government for failing to warn the first responders of dangers associated with working at ground zero.
Over 10,000 victims with health-related complaints have been litigating against the government for over seven years.
Just seven days after the disaster, Christine Todd Whitman of the Environmental Protection Agency, held a press conference assuring workers that health precautions were not needed.
“Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York … that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink,” she had said in a press release dated Sept. 18, 2001.
New York’s entire Congressional delegation has come out in support of the Zadroga Act.
Congressman Peter King says that he cannot go anywhere, not even to a little league game, without encountering somebody with the 9/11 cough.
“There are too many firefighters, police officers, construction workers, residents … who are walking around with pulverized glass in their lungs, who have lost their ability to breath, who are coming down with the most brutal blood disorders, cancers,” King said.
James Zadroga’s Story
“I am here to put a face on the bill, and I will keep it simple,” said Joseph Zadroga, a retired police officer and the father of fallen first responder and NYPD Detective James Zadroga.
When James Zadroga got a call about the terrorist attacks in 2001, he was arriving home after work. After stopping to change his clothes, he left his pregnant wife of eight months crying in the driveway and headed into the chaos to help.
“They came back and they worked in ground zero, knowing that it was unsafe, seeing things that no one in this world would want to see. And then [James] went back to his family,” said Joseph Zadroga.
Detective James Zadroga inhaled dust at the site of the fallen towers that was so thick that he could not see three feet in front of him, said his father. Two weeks later, he got a cough, which got progressively worse.
Unable to afford medical treatment in addition to the baby formula, the family nurtured the baby while James Zadroga suffered the effects of having worked at the site. When he could not stand it any longer, he swallowed his pride and asked his dad for money for painkillers.
At the three-year mark, James Zadroga was discharged from work with a “work-related injury” that did not mention the cause by name. One year later, he died in the middle of the night while trying to get a bottle for his daughter.
I want my son’s death to enable help for others, said his father.
“They need the help from this country so that they can get on with their lives and at least live a decent life and take care of their families,” he added.
A vote in July under “Suspension of the Rules” did not achieve the two-thirds majority required to pass the bill in the House of Representatives. However, with 255 votes in favor, including 12 Republicans, the bill is likely to pass under normal rules.
