WASHINGTON – Federal lawmakers
and supporters of maintaining the funding for healthcare for those who
became ill from working on rescue and recovery following the World Trade
Center attacks Thursday called on Congress to approve reauthorization
of the James Zadroga Act. The measure, which created the World Trade Center
Health Program and September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, expired on October
1.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus attended a news conference in Washington,
DC on Thursday to urge restoration of the program for those who have gotten
sick or died from the collapse of the Twin Towers.
“Breathing in toxic air, being exposed to all the different gases
that they didn’t know at the time were actually harmful to these
men and women,” he said. Neuhaus call it “embarrassing”
that Congress has not acted to restore the measure.
The act was created and named after NYPD Officer James Zadroga, who responded
to the World Trade Center and died from respiratory complications four
years later one month before his 30th birthday.
With the current year’s deliberations in Congress about to end shortly,
supporters want the bill to be approved as soon as possible.
