Like the Afghan Adjustment Act that we lament, the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act also fell out of the Senate’s $1.7 trillion omnibus bill as senators wrapped up for the year. The $3.6 billion measure is needed to shore up the World Trade Center Health Program, providing medical monitoring and essential care to more than 120,000 responders and survivors exposed to the toxic plume that rose over New York when the towers fell.
The program, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will last until 2090, providing lifetime care for the heroes and victims of 9/11. But the initial cost projections were too low as health care inflation is steep and the number of people needing services is growing faster than was anticipated. Without more resources from Congress, care would have to be rationed.
In the world of Senate mysteries, no one knows who knocked out the WTC package from the big spending bill, pushed relentlessly by Kirsten Gillibrand and backed fully by her colleague, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Who did it? Which senators are against providing needed medical coverage for people suffering from cancers and other ailments brought on by the terrorist attack against this country?
But all was not lost, as Schumer got a last-minute agreement from the Republicans for a $1 billion patch to keep the CDC effort fully funded for the next five years. As the chamber moved toward final passage of the huge omnibus bill without a cent for the WTC victims, Gillibrand introduced an amendment on the floor to add the $1 billion. Then Rand Paul of Kentucky objected, perhaps revealing the culprit. A roll call was held, the second to last, before the final omnibus tally.
The result was 90-6. Joining Paul’s tiny unpatriotic band were Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Steve Daines of Montana, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Tim Scott of South Carolina.
There are suffering responders and survivors in all 50 states, including theirs. Remember that the next time any of these half-dozen invoke the heroism and sacrifice of 9/11.
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