| Rible & Angelini Urge Obama to Find Permanent Solution to Funding for Sick 9/11 Responders |
| Legislators Stress the Need for a Stable Source of Funding for Dying Ground Zero Responders |
Assemblyman Dave Rible and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini are urging President Obama to dedicate permanent federal funding for the 9/11 first responders who are sick and dying as a result of their heroic actions following the terrorist attacks.
Just hours before his State of the Union address, the Obama Administration outraged Americans when they announced the president would not back H.R. 84, the Congressional bill that would guarantee long-term funding for healthcare and research for Ground Zero workers. Because of the backlash from 9/11 first responders, residents and lawmakers, the Administration reversed course and announced that President Obama would double next year's budget for treating the sick to $150 million.
"The funds will support health care for the heroes who put their lives on the line to save others," said Rible. "These responders are now experiencing the devastating aftermath of being exposed to Ground Zero and it is unjust that they have had to fight so hard to receive funding for care."
Rible has long advocated for this cause through his involvement with the 9/11 survivor group, the FealGood Foundation. He invited the group to testify on behalf of the responders at a hearing of the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee to discuss the lack of federal funding to the programs that provide health care for 9/11 first responders. In addition, Rible accompanied the group to Ground Zero for a press conference to bring attention to the cause. According to the FealGood Foundation, over 800 responders have died and many thousands more are sick as a result of their service to our country at the site of the World Trade Center.
According to reports, the budget for treating the responders has been more than doubled to $150 million for 2011. However, the administration does not support mandatory funding for the $11 billion permanent treatment plan.
Angelini reiterated her colleague's call by sending a letter to Congressman Frank Pallone regarding the need for appropriate funding to be secured to cover the insurance claims for those who are experiencing health related illnesses from the unsafe air quality that occurred in the weeks following September 11th, 2001. It has been reported that 85 percent of responders are suffering from lung diseases, post-traumatic stress disorder, cancers and a variety of ailments due to their service during the weeks and months following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. A 2006 medical study of fire fighters reported that those personnel who inhaled Ground Zero air essentially lost 12 years of lung function.
"Thousands of first responders from New York and New Jersey are suffering immensely for their selfless acts of heroism," said Angelini. "They did not hesitate to put themselves in the center of a deadly situation to help others in need. Now they are in the ones in need of our help and we cannot forget their sacrifices for our country."
Additionally, Rible sponsored legislation that was approved by the Assembly that urged the federal government to make funds available to allow for 9/11 responders to receive the proper health care.
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