Congress members unite in support of permanent and fully-funded Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act extension

Statement

Members of the New York and New Jersey congressional delegations today united at the site of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks to voice their opposition to new proposals that would make cuts to health care and compensation and only temporarily extend the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The House Energy and Commerce Committee Majority recently released a discussion draft of a bill to temporarily extend the World Trade Center Health program for a period of 5 years. A separate bill, introduced by House Judiciary Committee Majority members on Thursday, would temporarily extend the Victim Compensation Fund for five years, but at funding levels that could require as much as 60 percent cuts to the awards already promised to responders and survivors.

"The Judiciary and Energy & Commerce Majorities have dropped a subpar, inadequate bill that ignores the needs of our 9/11 heroes," said Congressman Jerrold Nadler. "The new proposal came about without talking to any advocacy group of policemen, firefighters, or survivors; without talking to any of the Members of Congress who have worked on this issue for the last 14 years; and without taking into account the existing bill -- the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act -- which fully funds and permanently reauthorizes these life-saving programs. This proposal fails to live up to the promise we made to support the heroes of 9/11. I do not support it. My colleagues from New York do not support it. The heroes of 9/11 do not support it. There is already broad, bipartisan support from a majority in both the House and Senate for a permanent reauthorization of the Zadroga Act, and I hope my Republican colleagues will join us in passing this critical legislation."

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