[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 114 (Friday, July 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1512-E1513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 HEALTH AND COMPENSATION ACT OF 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                  HON. HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 2010

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
support for H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation 
Act of 2009, which amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and 
improve protections and services to individuals directly impacted by 
the terrorist attack in New York City on September 11, 2001. The 
effects of H.R. 847 will be twofold: it will mandate funding to 
establish the World Trade Center Health Programs, and it will reopen 
the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Both provisions are necessary to 
sufficiently care for the health and economic welfare of the Americans 
who were victims of the September 11 attacks and who responded in the 
aftermath of the attacks. This act guarantees America's heroes--who 
have sacrificed so much for our country--the medical and financial 
support they deserve.
  As we approach the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on 
the World Trade Center (WTC), it is especially important that Congress 
remember that there are survivors of and responders to the attacks who 
continue to suffer today. These victims may experience a long-term 
negative impact on their health many years into the future. For the 
first seven years after September 11, the Bush administration failed to 
respond adequately to the medical emergency caused by dangerous 
airborne toxins at Ground Zero. Americans from every state and every 
walk of life have been affected by those toxins, and over 71,000 people 
have enrolled in the WTC Health Registry because of their condition. 
Toxin-related illnesses include respiratory, gastrointestinal, and 
mental-health disease. Additionally, these illnesses have caused 
financial loss for many survivors and responders, 11,000 of whom have 
sued the City of New York because they have no viable alternative for 
receiving compensation. H.R. 847 will deal thoroughly and effectively 
with each of these problems.
  Title I of H.R. 847 provides mandatory funding for the establishment 
of the World Trade Center Health Programs. These programs will provide 
consistent and readily available medical treatment for the September 11 
survivors and those who responded in the aftermath of the attacks, many 
of whom suffer egregiously from the airborne toxins present at Ground 
Zero. H.R. 847 will also strengthen the medical monitoring and 
treatment programs and other social services programs for survivors 
already in place at the Clinical Centers of Excellence in New York 
City. Title I goes on to establish a WTC National Responder Program, 
which will give eligible survivors and responders who live outside of 
the New York City metro area access to a nationwide network of 
healthcare providers associated with the 9/11 Health and Compensation 
Act. Additionally, Title I provides for research into health problems 
related to the September 11 attacks, so that legislators, doctors, 
survivors, and responders can be better informed about the nature of 
these conditions.
  Title II of H.R. 847 will reopen the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund 
(VCF), which closed in 2003, until 2031. The original deadline 
prevented survivors and responders who did not file a claim before the 
deadline, or who became ill after the deadline, to receive compensation 
for losses sustained as a result of the attacks. Reopening the fund 
will not change eligibility standards for compensation; rather, doing 
so will ensure that anyone eligible for compensation at any point 
receives the best care and support possible. The newly reopened VCF 
will also allow for the offsetting of over 11,000 lawsuits filed by 
survivors and responders suffering from the effects of WTC toxins.
  Title III of the bill ensures that its $7.7 billion cost is fully 
paid for by preventing a form of tax evasion called ``treaty 
shopping.'' This makes the bill pay-as-you-go neutral, and thus 
amenable to Congress' goals of intelligent spending and fiscal 
responsibility.
  The attacks on the World Trade Center irrevocably changed the lives 
of all Americans. As a result, we see the world from a markedly 
different perspective, and we have entered two expensive and bloody 
wars. The number of lives lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, added to the 
toll taken by the attacks themselves, is a devastating tragedy. But, 
with the passage of

[[Page E1513]]

this bill, we can stop any more victims of the September 11 attacks 
from dying or continuing to suffer. We must be able to look back on our 
legislative record and say that we assured justice to the heroes of 9/
11, who stood on the front lines as America came under siege.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.

                          ____________________