[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 173 (Wednesday, December 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S10995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN SUPPORT OF THE 9/11 HEALTH AND COMPENSATION ACT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 100 years ago today, there was a horrible 
fire in the stockyards of Chicago. Most of us have our vision of that 
era and the stockyards from Upton Sinclair's book ``The Jungle,'' which 
told of the life of a Lithuanian immigrant family working in the 
stockyards. It was one of the busiest commercial ventures in the United 
States, and it literally fed the Nation. But it also engaged in 
practices acceptable at that time which would be unacceptable by 
today's standards of health and safety.
  That day of December 20, 1910, there was a fire. As a result of that 
fire, 100 years ago today, 21 firefighters lost their lives at the 
union stockyards in Chicago. Until the collapse of the World Trade 
Center towers on 9/11, no single disaster in the history of the United 
States had claimed the lives of more firefighters.
  Sadly, today, in a cruel irony of history, there has been another 
fire in Chicago. This morning we lost two firefighters who went out in 
the bitter cold and did their best to fight a fire. A wall collapsed on 
them, as it did 100 years ago. Two lost their lives, and 14 were 
seriously injured. It is a sad reminder to all of us who drive by 
firehouses and fire stations all the time and see the men and women who 
work there, that when they are called to duty, they can give their 
lives at a moment's notice. It happened this morning in Chicago. It 
happened 100 years ago in the same city. It can happen again.
  I am glad that earlier today we finally worked out an agreement on 
the so-called 9/11 Health Compensation Act, the James Zadroga 9/11 
Health Compensation Act. The extraordinary efforts for passing that 
have to be recognized. I will, of course, acknowledge the two Senators 
from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, who worked 
tirelessly to get it passed. They would acknowledge the contribution of 
our majority leader, Harry Reid, who stepped in and made this process 
work when it looked like it had failed several times. Mike Enzi, on the 
Republican side, Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, all worked together and came 
up with a good bill. The 9/11 Health Compensation Act is going to help 
many around the United States. I just learned this week it can help one 
person in Chicago.
  Arthur Noonan is 1 of the 188 responders and 86 survivors living in 
Illinois and enrolled in the World Trade Center health registry. I wish 
to thank the Chicago Sun Times for telling his story. He is a 30-year 
veteran of the Chicago Fire Department, spent hundreds of hours 
volunteering at Ground Zero in those critical days and weeks after the 
terrorist attack. Mr. Noonan, a firefighter from Chicago, worked in a 
line passing buckets of debris from Ground Zero, searching for human 
remains and clothing. He remembers the thick dust that coated 
everything and the sickly sweet smell. Noonan and other volunteers were 
given respirators, but the filters clogged up after a few minutes. They 
worked without masks after that. A few years after the cleanup, Mr. 
Noonan contracted leukemia. He applied for health benefits through the 
victims compensation fund and submitted medical documents to 
substantiate his claim, but his claim was filed 2 weeks too late.
  Mr. Noonan said at first he was hesitant to file a claim because he 
``never got anything for nothing.'' He says he has always worked two or 
three jobs. I talked to him on the phone just a couple days ago. What a 
classic Chicago story. Here is a man, a proud firefighter, now in 
retirement, battling leukemia successfully, who still says: I don't 
want anything for nothing.

  I said: So what are you worried about?
  Well, I am worried because I have a cap on my health insurance of 1 
million bucks, and I have already spent $750,000 on my leukemia. I am 
worried I will just run out of health insurance.
  That is a concern, a concern that can be addressed by this bill. If 
his leukemia can be tracked to his experience at Ground Zero, we 
certainly want to make certain he receives the medical care he needs.
  Stanley Silata is another Chicago firefighter who applied for health 
assistance but was told his application was too late. He participated 
in search-and-rescue missions at Ground Zero and put out fires. Similar 
to so many other firefighters who were on the lines those days, Mr. 
Silata developed serious respiratory problems. He has had to have 
medical treatment since 2004. Mr. Silata's claim for assistance was 
submitted, unfortunately, 2 weeks after the deadline. We are hoping 
this bill will provide him some protection as well. The stories go on 
and on. But as we are reminded from the deaths in Chicago today, the 
firefighters who responded to this fire, the men and women who 
responded at Ground Zero, carried a servant's heart into one of the 
most dangerous places on Earth. They literally risked their lives in 
the hopes that they could save others or at least bring some 
compensation and some consolation to the families who had suffered 
these losses.
  They deserve nothing less than our gratitude and our help, our help 
in enacting this 9/11 health compensation bill. I believe the House of 
Representatives will be considering this today. I hope it is signed 
very quickly by the President.

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