December 4, 2008
Push to reopen 9/11 fund for ill
WASHINGTON - Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer want to reopen the Sept. 11 compensation fund to allow billions in new claims from workers suffering long-term effects from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.
The bill, nearly identical to a measure introduced last week by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), would extend claims to people who worked or lived near the site during the months-long recovery. Previously only those who arrived within the first 96 hours after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were eligible.
The original deadline for applications was Dec. 22, 2003. But recent revelations that 30,000 or more Ground Zero workers may be suffering from long-term ailments have prompted local lawmakers to call for the reopening of the fund.
"We owe it to those who bravely and selflessly responded in the aftermath of 9/11 to stand by them and their families," Clinton said yesterday. "It is our duty to make sure they get the help they need and deserve."
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Share your thoughts about Sept. 11, 2001, and the ensuing five years.
If the media would stop giving this attention, maybe the 9/11 families could start spending the millions of dollars given to them, and stop costing the city and country millions more in construction delays.
Submitted by Stop whining already!
6:57 AM EST, Nov 6, 2006
Everyday we do not build they have won. It is time to for the families to accept what has happened and move on. Would those you are grieving about want it this way? Or would they want to show the terrorists that nothing can keep the USA Down. Let us all let them build a bigger better New York.
Submitted by I was there too!
6:54 AM EST, Nov 6, 2006
HEY WHAT BOUT THE BILLIONS IN GOLD BARS MISSING FROM WTC 4 VAULT ON 911.GOULIANI JUST A PHONEY WHO ONLY SAVED HIMSELF AND LINED HIS POCKETS.
Submitted by sambo
8:46 AM EST, Nov 2, 2006
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The compensation fund, which shut down in 2004, distributed $6.9 billion to the families of the nearly 3,000 people killed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and to about 2,500 people injured in the attacks.
It's not clear how the Republican leadership in the House and Senate will respond to the proposal, although Democratic aides expected opposition, based on the potentially huge price tag.
The bill, also sponsored by New Jersey Democratic Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, is dedicated to the late NYPD Det. James Zadroga, who died as a result of health problems tied to his service at the World Trade Center.
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