I was driving to my mother’s house the other day and decided on the way to listen to NPR. Amy Goodman from Democracy Now was interviewing John Feal, a 9/11 first responder, and the president of the FealGood Foundation.
Lately, I haven’t been following the news in regards to the medical compensation to the thousands of first responders. But when I listened to Feal speak of his experiences, it was no surprise that I found myself in tears listening to his interview. Because of the lack of medical compensation to thousands of 9/11 first responders exposed to toxic substances at Ground Zero, many have died. Nine years later, no compensation and more deaths.
“I’ve Been to 44 Funerals in the Last 4 1/2 Years”
-9/11 First Responder John Feal Calls on Senate to Pass Zadroga Bill
The culprits behind these men and women being refused compensation are, no surprise, the party of “no” Republicans.
“More than nine years after the September 11th attacks, the Senate may be on the verge of finally voting on legislation that would grant $6.2 billion medical coverage and compensation to thousands of 9/11 first responders exposed to toxic substances at Ground Zero. The House passed a $7.4 billion version of the bill in September. But the Senate version has been held up by a Republican filibuster. We speak with John Feal, a former construction worker and 9/11 first responder.”
Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, aka: “Dr Coburn”, has said that he’ll likely block the measure again. Speaking on Fox News on Tuesday, he said the Senate needs time to consider the bill.
They had nine years to get this bill passed. The amount of compensation this bill would grant has been diminished, more lives are being lost, and he wants more time. I bet if a member of his family was suffering, time would be of the essence.
Well, good news! Thankfully a few days ago, because of a lot of hard work, strong leadership and determination, this bill finally passed!
Today we saw a true Christmas miracle take place in the US Senate.
Two weeks ago, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act was defeated on a procedural vote, the casualty of political gamesmanship so common in Washington. Because we didn’t have the votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, this crucial piece of legislation to provide critical health care for our brave 9/11 heroes could not proceed to an up or down vote.
But that vote two weeks ago was a turning point. It made people sit up and say, wait a minute, this isn’t right, we owe these brave men and women. Who are we as Americans if we don’t take care of our heroes? Well, it’s been nine long years since these brave men and women answered the call on 9/11 and I’m so proud that today the US Senate has now answered theirs.
Democrats and Republicans came together to finally pass this bill and fulfill the moral obligation we have to our 9/11 heroes and provide them with the healthcare they need.
We would not be here without the strong leadership of Senator Schumer, Congresswoman Maloney, Congressman Nadler, Congressman King, Congressman Weiner, Congressman Crowley, Congressman McMahon, the entire New York Congressional delegation. And I’m so grateful to Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Hoyer whose leadership has allowed us to expedite passage of this important legislation today. Thanks also to Secretary Clinton who worked tirelessly on this bill while in the Senate.
And then there are all the first responders who’ve been working with me and my team since I came to the Senate last year. They’ve walked the halls of Congress, they’ve made calls, written letters, appeared on TV, whatever it took to help their brothers and sisters who are sick and dying get the health care they need. We couldn’t have done this without their tireless advocacy.
Many of us felt deeply that this bill was the right thing to do, but there were some who insisted on playing politics with the lives of 9/11 heroes. Thankfully, Americans from across the country made their voices heard. Jon Stewart, Shepard Smith, and many others gave the issue the extra attention it needed and put pressure on Republicans in Washington to do the right thing.
People from all over tweeted and Facebooked, blogged and called their senators in support of this bill and to express outrage at the Senate’s inability to get this done. I’ve been truly moved by the overwhelming reaction to this bill, and I can’t thank you all enough for helping make this Christmas miracle a reality for our 9/11 heroes.
Readers: Kudos to all of those mentioned above, and in my opinion, even bigger kudos to Jon Stewart from The Daily Show! On December 17th Stewart dedicated his entire last show of the year to discussing the 9/11 First Responders Bill. It looks like their passion for getting this bill passed finally paid off.
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Anna & Peter of Guam, all the Chamorros, and all my overseas friends:
Merry Christmas!
Sam: Congratulations to you! And yeah, some “friend”. Peace.
Anon: I don’t know; I’ll have to ask him. I’ll let you know. In the mean time, everyone knows I am a girl’s girl, so I see harm in flirting. :)
Bob: Hilarious!! Loved it!
Nathlie: Thank you. And I wish a happy holiday for all of you as well!
It’s Friday….I’m done flapping my lips – start flapping yours.
JOY & PEACE
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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