[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 175 (Thursday, December 3, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H9002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 HEALTH AND COMPENSATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT

  (Mr. ROONEY of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the House to 
bring the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization 
Act to a vote before the end of the year.
  On September 11, 2001, my wife and I were stationed at Fort Hood, 
Texas, celebrating the birth of our first son, Tommy. We watched in 
horror the attacks on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon. Like 
many of you, we will never forget the brave efforts of the men and 
women who served as first responders on that tragic morning.
  Today, Tommy is 14 years old, and my children have grown up in a 
post-9/11 America. They will never know what America was like before 
those attacks, but they have been taught to look with pride at the 
heroes who risked their lives to help others.
  With that same pride, I rise today to ask my colleagues to support a 
bill that protects the benefits of those first responders.
  How often do we as politicians show up at 9/11 memorials to honor the 
first responders? How often do we talk about the heroes who rushed into 
those falling buildings when everybody else was running out?
  Now is our chance to do our part and give the men and women we call 
heroes the benefits they deserve. I encourage all of you to support the 
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act and 
bring it to a vote before the end of the year.

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