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

Vito Fossella and the IAFF

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) donated $1,000 to Rep. Vito Fossella's campaign last quarter, and it seems contrary to all of their political efforts. First and foremost I have the utmost respect for the IAFF. They are a tremendous organization and recently did some great ground work for Sen. Dodd's presidential campaign. And that is why this contribution intrigues me. The IAFF has spent quite a bit of time exposing Rudy Giuliani and his real record regarding disastrous decisions before and after September 11th. While that was going on Rep. Vito Fossella was hard at work negating the IAFF and trying to get Rudy Giuliani elected.

It is not just that Vito endorsed Giuliani. Many elected officials passive endorsed presidential candidates. The bigger problem is the Vito campaigned hard for Rudy Giuliani.

"We helped him out immensely here," said Fossella. "We had people making phone calls and doing other things. You don't have to be physically located in the state to help him. Everything makes a difference. We made a pretty good showing in the Rudy Giuliani campaign."

Fossella took part in a conference call with Giuliani and present and former House members recently, and also has appeared on television to tout Giuliani's campaign.

and then there is this piece where Vito praises Giulaini's leadership post September 11th;



To the fire fighters who worked effortlessly to expose Rudy Giuliani's horrible decisions and poor leadership I would ask you to take a look at the Democratic candidates in this race and see if they do not better represent what you are fighting for and who you want in Washington DC.

update: Going through some previous posts I found this;

Fossella is the only New York City member of Congress to not sign on to Nadler's letter asking Congress for money to fund the health care needs of our first responders suffering from various ailments related to contamination of the area around Ground Zero.

and this;

So while Rep. Vito Fossella used his sound bites to say terror! as often as possible, it wasn't until Rep. Nadler (D) spoke second, that he brought up the point about President Bush refusing to cover the costs of medical tests and treatment for our own firemen. Given the chance to use his appearance to demand funding medical coverage for these first responders, Rep. Vito Fossella instead used his time to praise President Bush.

Vito Fossella's Giuliani problem: Fire Fighters

Vito Fossella has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. And that is where the problems start.

How do you endorse a guy who puts political gain before the safety and needs of our city's first responders. Simply put the International Association of Fire Fighters, not just from NYC but across the country has come out in major opposition to Giuliani, the man Fossella wants to be President;



Rudy Giuliani, Fossella's top choice for President!



This makes it rather difficult for one to support the city's bravest and at the same time vote for Vito Fossella. Voting for this man enables him to promote Giuliani and his egregious decisions that we don't need expanded to the whole country. Demand Fossella support our fire fighters and dump Giuliani.