Congress turns its back on suffering American heroes
Congress now has a lower approval rating than the stuff stuck on the bottom of your shoe.
But it just sank even lower than that.
Our bought-and-sold congressional “leaders” have allowed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to expire.
This act provided medical coverage for firefighters, police officers, and other 9/11 responders who continue to suffer grave health conditions related to inhaling airborne toxins created by the attacks.
After years of pious pomposity and solemn vows to “never forget,” these Capitol Hill zeroes just slammed the door on our heroes.
Fourteen years after the attacks, the attacks of 9/11 are still cutting down innocent victims.
Eight more lives have been lost over the past month alone.
Politicians might have developed convenient amnesia about the 9/11 tragedy that’s still raging. But we’ll never forget how so many brave men and women raced from all over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC to the scenes of the most hideous crimes we’ve ever witnessed.
But there are other heroes you might have never heard about.
In the days that followed, emergency personnel streamed into New York from nearly every state in the country to help clear Ground Zero debris, hoping against hope that they might find survivors. Instead, they became victims of the toxic dust and fumes that lingered for weeks after the attacks.
It took 10 full years, but in 2011 Congress finally did the right thing and passed the Zadroga 9/11 Act to help provide crucial medical coverage for those suffering from severe respiratory conditions and many types of cancers developed while they toiled at Ground Zero and the Pentagon with inadequate protection. People who lived in the World Trade Center area at the time are also covered.
But this is no Big Government giveaway. Rescue workers who get workman’s comp or have sufficient private insurance can’t reap sudden windfalls of federal cash.
The Zadroga Act helps with coverage for emergency workers who can’t afford insurance. It also covers those who are victims of a predatory loophole where private insurance companies can deny a claim because it’s “work-related.”
Can you believe it? I’m sure you can, unfortunately. You’ve dealt with insurance companies. They manipulate the fine print to protect their staggering profits while hard-working people suffer.
And that suffering runs deep.
A new report shows that the cancer death rate among New York City police officers who responded to the emergency jumped an incredible 50 percent over what it was prior to 9/11.
Well over 30,000 emergency workers and survivors all across the U.S. have been diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses or injuries. Many have multiple health problems, including about 2,500 who are suffering from various cancers.
Researchers predict that total deaths from these conditions will run higher than the number of people killed on 9/11 itself.
Obviously, this is not the time to suddenly pull the plug on the assistance these people desperately need and deserve.
Just think of the outrageous ways Congress squanders our tax dollars. I could go on about that all day, but here’s an infuriating little tidbit. Three-quarters of a million dollars was somehow carved out of the U.S. budget to build a soccer field for detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
I’m glad I don’t have to be the one to tell the family of a 9/11 firefighter who’s tortured with brain cancer that his insurance coverage is about to end while suspected terrorists get to enjoy a super-deluxe soccer field.
That’s just obscene!
Funding that’s already in place for the Zadroga Act will continue for a few more months. But then it all just dries up if the numbskulls in Congress don’t get the message and make the act permanent.
Please write, call, or email your representative in Congress and tell them you’ll be following their actions (or lack of any) on this important act. But most importantly, remind them about the “never” part in “never forget.”
Because come Election Day, we won’t be forgetting either.
Sources:
“Zadroga law for 9/11 responders expires” Michael Gannon, October 15, 2015, Queens Chronical, qchron.com
“Cancer rate skyrockets for 9-11 ground zero cops” Nick Tate, October 12, 2015, NewsMax, newsmax.com
