http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/chamber-commerce-lobbied-kill-911-responders-bill/
By Nathan Diebenow
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
The US Chamber of Commerce lobbied to kill a bill that would have helped cover medical expenses and compensation for first responders and survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to documents available online.
The Chamber's aim was to keep open a tax loophole benefiting foreign corporations that the $7.4 billion bill would have closed to provide funding for the American emergency workers.
In a letter opposing the 9/11 bill, R. Bruce Josten, the Chamber's executive vice president for Government Affairs, cautioned that closing the tax loophole would harm US trade relationships and financial markets.
Daily Show: 9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster - Thursday December 16, 2010
9/11 first responders watch as Mitch McConnell cries over a friend's retirement, and Jon Kyl explains why the Senate can't work the week after Christmas.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| 9/11 First Responders React to the Senate Filibuster | ||||
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By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
New York Times
Published: December 9, 2010
WASHINGTON — Republican senators blocked Democratic legislation on Thursday that sought to provide medical care to rescue workers and residents of New York City who became ill as a result of breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke from ground zero.
The 9/11 health bill, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives in September, is among a handful of initiatives that Senate Democrats had been hoping to approve this year before the close of the 111th Congress. Supporters believe this is their last real opportunity to have the bill passed.
The Senate action created huge uncertainty over the future of the bill. Its proponents were working on Thursday to have the legislation inserted into a large tax-cut bill that Republicans and Democrats are trying to pass before Congress ends it current session later this month.
The House on Wednesday approved legislation to provide billions of dollars for medical treatment to rescue workers and residents of New York City who suffered illnesses from breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke at ground zero.
The vote was 268 to 160, with 13 Republicans joining Democrats in support of the bill. Republicans raised concerns about the $7.4 billion cost of the program.
I agree -- this is infuriating. I'll mention it tonight in my speech with Cindy Sheehan William Rodriguez. This should go on other 911 blogs as well. - Peter Dale Scott
Saying James Zadroga isn't a hero is like saying Michael Boomberg isn't the mayor, George Bush isn't the president, and Christine Todd Whitman never lied. The sad fact is all three are true, and all three have played a part in the death of a NYPD hero, and countless others. In closing, science says Bush has no brains Bloomberg has no heart, and Whitman has no regard towards human life. - John Feal
By Jon Gold
10/31/2007
Mayor Bloomberg's comments about Police Detective James Zadroga's death, in which he said Mr. Zadroga is not a hero, has sparked a firestorm within the former detective's family and the NYC police dept.
AP
Source: http://wcbstv.com/local/zadroga.lung.ailment.2.479488.html
Video: http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=83711@wcbs.dayport.com
Bloomberg Remark Sparks Heated 9/11 Hero Debate
NEW YORK (AP) ―
The recent disclosure that a police detective who died of a lung ailment after toiling for months at ground zero may have been improperly injecting drugs has prompted a heated debate in New York City over what constitutes a hero.
The argument over the life and death of James Zadroga echoes a situation in Boston, where two lauded firefighters who died in a blaze were later found to have been intoxicated on the job. One had a blood alcohol level of 0.27 when he died. The other had cocaine in his system.
The disclosures revived old concerns about police officers and firefighters, whose high-stress jobs have long been thought to make them prime candidates for drug and alcohol abuse.
NYC Mayor Takes Heat Over 'Hero' Remark
By SARA KUGLER Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK — City police unions and the family of a dead police detective who worked on Sept. 11 cleanup called Tuesday for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to apologize for saying the officer is "not a hero" because his death was ruled unrelated to the toxic debris.
Speaking Monday to students at Harvard University, Bloomberg was asked about the idea of applying hard science to public policy. In his answer, he brought up Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch's recent conclusion that retired police detective James Zadroga's fatal lung disease was caused not by dust from the collapse of the World Trade Center but by self-administered injections of ground-up pills.
"Nobody wanted to hear that; we wanted to have a hero, and there are plenty of heroes,"
Bloomberg said. "It's just, in this case, science says this was not a hero."