Fossella is not supporting 9/11 first responders in Brooklyn

via the Bay Ridge Courier;

Armed with the names of 22 fellow representatives, Rep. Jerrold Nadler has begun his big push to ask D.C. to appropriate more than $282 million for the World Trade Center Monitoring and Treatment Program to assist rescuers and first responders afflicted with 9/11 related illnesses.

Every member of Brooklyn’s Congressional delegation with the exception of Rep. Vito Fossella has signed onto the letter, which was sent to Rep. David Obey, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services and Education.

“We have an obligation to provide for the monitoring and treatment for those brave first responders who were exposed to toxins at the World Trade Center,” Nadler explained. “In the days after 9/11, first-responders came to New York from around the country to help in any way they could. The least we must do now is help those that have since become sick and need treatment. Furthermore, we still need to fund the health needs of residents, non-first responder workers and school children.”

Agreed! But where is Fossella on this? This is outrageous. With all his rhetoric you would imagine he would sign on to this even if part of his district was not in Brooklyn. The article does not provide any speculation as to why he is absent from this letter but I don't mind doing so. Rep. Vito Fossella as you may know by know supports the first responders of 9/11 as much as he supports the troops. He will gladly use either group as a backdrop for publicity or empty rhetoric to constituents and reporters but when it comes time to actually doing some work to back that up he is no where to be found. Fortunately we have Rep. Nadler who has long been championing 9/11 worker's issues and is going to do something about it now that he is part of the majority, the majority Fossella has enjoyed since 9/11. Don't believe me here is a 2004 interview from CNN;

FOSSELLA: The president should be proud of his record of fighting and leading in this war against terror. And we can't just ignore the reality of September 11, if we're going to move forward as a nation.

snip

NADLER: We can debate what Bush did after and before and we should, and we can debate why they still won't pay for the medical treatment of the firemen and the other firefighters who were injured in the first response. But whether you like President Bush or not, we can debate his actions before and after. But to exploit this emotionally, the way these ads are doing, is, frankly, disgusting.

We see once again given the choice that Rep. Vito Fossella would rather profess his admiration for President Bush than use the opportunity to address the horrible government response to the health care needs of our 9/11 responders.