Federal Legislation
Various bills have been introduced to the United States Congress to provide forms of health care to responders and survivors of the 9/11 attacks. On February 2, 2005, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney introduced the Remember 9/11 Health Act, which died in committee. On September 13, 2006, Sen. Clinton brought an amendment to a piece of ports security legislation, aiming to create a five-year, $1.9 billion treatment program for sufferers of Ground Zero dust and fumes after-effects.
Later, in February 2009, Congresswoman Maloney introduced the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which eventually passed following a protracted political battle in 2010. The U.S. House passed a new version of the act in September 2010. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked the Senate to do the same. In a Senate vote held on December 9, 2010, Democrats were unable to break a Republican filibuster against the bill; the vote was 57 in favor and 42 against, but 60 votes were needed for the bill to proceed to an up-or-down vote. Republicans outlined concerns around paying for the $7.4 billion bill in an appropriate way. Additionally, they also raised concerns about creating an expansive new healthcare entitlement program and re-opening the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Comedian Jon Stewart of The Daily Show was credited by the White House and other media and political news outlets for bringing awareness of the Republican filibuster on the Zadroga bill. The bill received final Congressional approval on December 22, 2010, and was enacted by President Obama on January 2, 2011. The act allocated $4.2 billion to create the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides testing and treatment for people suffering from long-term health problems related to the 9/11 attacks. The WTC Health Program replaced preexisting 9/11-related health programs such as the Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program and the WTC Environmental Health Center program.
Read more about this topic: Health Effects Arising From The September 11 Attacks
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