9/11 bill faces Senate hurdle

WASHINGTON — A $7.4 billion
package of health care benefits and compensation to those sickened by
exposure to ground zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks faces a
critical hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday.

“I have every bit of confidence with all of our advocates here in Washington today (Tuesday) that over the next 24 hours we will be victorious,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told firefighters, police officers, construction workers and survivors of victims at a news conference in the Capitol complex.

The bill is dubbed the James Zadroga Act after a New Jersey native and former New York City
police officer who died nearly five years after the attack from lung
problems. Some authorities say those problems were caused by the toxic
fibers and chemicals at the burning World Trade Center ruins.

“He gave 450 hours of his time at the site with nothing more than a paper mask,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

Congress has authorized health care for sickened workers, including a center operated by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, but funding needs to be renewed every year. If the bill passes, the health care program would be more secure.

The Zadroga bill needs 60 votes in the Senate.
On Tuesday, supporters said they had the support of 59, but they were
hopeful several other senators would put them over the top. If it
clears the 60-vote hurdle to end debate, it would need only 51 votes to
pass.

“I know we are close, but we are not there yet,” Menendez said. “Having been in the Congress 18 years, I have seen votes that have been lost by one vote.”

The Senate may change the funding source
for the new program from a version that passed the House in September,
so the bill would have to go back before Congress leaves for its Christmas break to become law.

The House version had been funded by a change in corporate taxes on foreign companies with subsidiaries in the United States. Opponents had said raising taxes on corporations could hurt the economic recovery.

Supporters were angry that battles over how to pay
for the program have delayed assistance to people they consider heroes
who rushed to the attack site or worked for weeks to find buried
victims.

“We are offended by the comments of some who are degrading this effort, who say it’s a job-killing effort,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. “How about a people-killing thing we want to stop in its tracks?”

The bill provides medical monitoring and treatment
to emergency responders and cleanup workers sickened by exposure to the
wreckage. Nearby residents and other building occupants directly
affected by he attacks also could be covered.

The federal government provided compensation to those killed or injured in the World Trade Center attacks, but those whose symptoms did not appear until years later were shut out. The bill would reopen the compensation fund.

The Senate is looking to change the
funding source from the tax on foreign companies with domestic
subsidiaries to a 2 percent excise tax on contracts the U.S. government
has with companies from countries that have not signed a multinational
contracting reform agreement.

———

(c) 2010, North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Visit The Record Online at http://www.northjersey.com/.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.