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Push to reopen 9/11 fund for ill

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

September 13, 2006

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."

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.