McMahon will fight for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2008

Sadly 7 years later we still have to fight for healthcare funding and research for our very bravest. Mike McMahon has come out strongly in support of HR 6594, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2008 and many other federal bills relating to the health of our first responders. From his earlier press release announcing the endorsement by the Uniformed Fire Officers Association and Uniformed Firefighters Association we see what Mike will do for the district when he is in Congress;

In Congress, McMahon will fight for dedicated resources for the first responders sickened by their work responding to the terrorists attack on September 11th and on the pile after the towers fell. He has pledged to support the creation of a coordinated, permanent program to provide medical monitoring and assistance to first responders affected by the attacks. Currently, medical assistance for first responders relies in annual appropriations which do not guarantee continued care and support. By creating an entitlement fund for first responder care, our bravest would be assured sufficient resources for their medical needs.

McMahon also supports the reopening of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) to provide compensation for economic loss and injury related to September 11th. Reopening the fund would allow those affected by the attacks, but who did not file or became ill after the initial December 22, 2003 filing deadline, to claim losses. It would also allow for earlier awards to be readjusted if the initial judgment proved to be too low in the intervening years. The fund would replace the costly and time-consuming litigation-based system currently in place.

McMahon fully supports the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2008 (H.R. 6594), named after the NYPD detective who died in January 2006 after working 450 hours at Ground Zero, which would create both the dedicated medical fund and reopen the VCF. The bill extends resources to all eligible first responders and community members affected by the attacks. It is currently pending in the House.

Mike McMahon for Congress

Veto Fossella's embrace of Rudy Giuliani

This is the man Rep. Fossella wants to be president of our country;

Before Saturday's GOP debate, several members of the 9/11 recovery effort will be stationed outside the forum petitioning the former New York City Mayor to discuss the mishandled health safety issues following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

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.