[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14685-14709]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 HEALTH AND COMPENSATION ACT OF 2010

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 847) to amend 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, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 847

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``James 
     Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

               TITLE I--WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM

Sec. 101. World Trade Center Health Program.

           ``TITLE XXXIII--WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM

       ``Subtitle A--Establishment of Program; Advisory Committee

``Sec. 3301. Establishment of World Trade Center Health Program.
``Sec. 3302. WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory 
              Committee; WTC Health Program Steering Committees.
``Sec. 3303. Education and outreach.
``Sec. 3304. Uniform data collection and analysis.
``Sec. 3305. Clinical Centers of Excellence and Data Centers.
``Sec. 3306. Definitions.

[[Page 14686]]

 ``Subtitle B--Program of Monitoring, Initial Health Evaluations, and 
                               Treatment

                        ``Part 1--WTC Responders

``Sec. 3311. Identification of WTC responders and provision of WTC-
              related monitoring services.
``Sec. 3312. Treatment of enrolled WTC responders for WTC-related 
              health conditions.
``Sec. 3313. National arrangement for benefits for eligible individuals 
              outside New York.

                        ``Part 2--WTC Survivors

``Sec. 3321. Identification and initial health evaluation of screening-
              eligible and certified-eligible WTC survivors.
``Sec. 3322. Followup monitoring and treatment of certified-eligible 
              WTC survivors for WTC-related health conditions.
``Sec. 3323. Followup monitoring and treatment of other individuals 
              with WTC-related health conditions.

                       ``Part 3--Payor Provisions

``Sec. 3331. Payment of claims.
``Sec. 3332. Administrative arrangement authority.

                 ``Subtitle C--Research Into Conditions

``Sec. 3341. Research regarding certain health conditions related to 
              September 11 terrorist attacks.
``Sec. 3342. World Trade Center Health Registry.

                         ``Subtitle D--Funding

``Sec. 3351. World Trade Center Health Program Fund.

       TITLE II--SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND OF 2001

Sec. 201. Definitions.
Sec. 202. Extended and expanded eligibility for compensation.
Sec. 203. Requirement to update regulations.
Sec. 204. Limited liability for certain claims.
Sec. 205. Funding; attorney fees.

    TITLE III--LIMITATION ON TREATY BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN DEDUCTIBLE 
        PAYMENTS; TIME FOR PAYMENT OF CORPORATE ESTIMATED TAXES

Sec. 301. Limitation on treaty benefits for certain deductible 
              payments.
Sec. 302. Time for payment of corporate estimated taxes.

                      TITLE IV--BUDGETARY EFFECTS

Sec. 401. Compliance with Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

               TITLE I--WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM

     SEC. 101. WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM.

       The Public Health Service Act is amended by adding at the 
     end the following new title:

           ``TITLE XXXIII--WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM

       ``Subtitle A--Establishment of Program; Advisory Committee

     ``SEC. 3301. ESTABLISHMENT OF WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH 
                   PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--There is hereby established within the 
     Department of Health and Human Services a program to be known 
     as the World Trade Center Health Program, which shall be 
     administered by the WTC Program Administrator, to provide 
     beginning on July 1, 2011--
       ``(1) medical monitoring and treatment benefits to eligible 
     emergency responders and recovery and cleanup workers 
     (including those who are Federal employees) who responded to 
     the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; and
       ``(2) initial health evaluation, monitoring, and treatment 
     benefits to residents and other building occupants and area 
     workers in New York City who were directly impacted and 
     adversely affected by such attacks.
       ``(b) Components of Program.--The WTC Program includes the 
     following components:
       ``(1) Medical monitoring for responders.--Medical 
     monitoring under section 3311, including clinical 
     examinations and long-term health monitoring and analysis for 
     enrolled WTC responders who were likely to have been exposed 
     to airborne toxins that were released, or to other hazards, 
     as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
       ``(2) Initial health evaluation for survivors.--An initial 
     health evaluation under section 3321, including an evaluation 
     to determine eligibility for followup monitoring and 
     treatment.
       ``(3) Followup monitoring and treatment for wtc-related 
     health conditions for responders and survivors.--Provision 
     under sections 3312, 3322, and 3323 of followup monitoring 
     and treatment and payment, subject to the provisions of 
     subsection (d), for all medically necessary health and mental 
     health care expenses of an individual with respect to a WTC-
     related health condition (including necessary prescription 
     drugs).
       ``(4) Outreach.--Establishment under section 3303 of an 
     education and outreach program to potentially eligible 
     individuals concerning the benefits under this title.
       ``(5) Clinical data collection and analysis.--Collection 
     and analysis under section 3304 of health and mental health 
     data relating to individuals receiving monitoring or 
     treatment benefits in a uniform manner in collaboration with 
     the collection of epidemiological data under section 3342.
       ``(6) Research on health conditions.--Establishment under 
     subtitle C of a research program on health conditions 
     resulting from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
       ``(c) No Cost Sharing.--Monitoring and treatment benefits 
     and initial health evaluation benefits are provided under 
     subtitle B without any deductibles, copayments, or other cost 
     sharing to an enrolled WTC responder or certified-eligible 
     WTC survivor. Initial health evaluation benefits are provided 
     under subtitle B without any deductibles, copayments, or 
     other cost sharing to a screening-eligible WTC survivor.
       ``(d) Preventing Fraud and Unreasonable Administrative 
     Costs.--
       ``(1) Fraud.--The Inspector General of the Department of 
     Health and Human Services shall develop and implement a 
     program to review the WTC Program's health care expenditures 
     to detect fraudulent or duplicate billing and payment for 
     inappropriate services. This title is a Federal health care 
     program (as defined in section 1128B(f) of the Social 
     Security Act) and is a health plan (as defined in section 
     1128C(c) of such Act) for purposes of applying sections 1128 
     through 1128E of such Act.
       ``(2) Unreasonable administrative costs.--The Inspector 
     General of the Department of Health and Human Services shall 
     develop and implement a program to review the WTC Program for 
     unreasonable administrative costs, including with respect to 
     infrastructure, administration, and claims processing.
       ``(e) Quality Assurance.--The WTC Program Administrator 
     working with the Clinical Centers of Excellence shall develop 
     and implement a quality assurance program for the monitoring 
     and treatment delivered by such Centers of Excellence and any 
     other participating health care providers. Such program shall 
     include--
       ``(1) adherence to monitoring and treatment protocols;
       ``(2) appropriate diagnostic and treatment referrals for 
     participants;
       ``(3) prompt communication of test results to participants; 
     and
       ``(4) such other elements as the Administrator specifies in 
     consultation with the Clinical Centers of Excellence.
       ``(f) Annual Program Report.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the end of 
     each fiscal year in which the WTC Program is in operation, 
     the WTC Program Administrator shall submit an annual report 
     to the Congress on the operations of this title for such 
     fiscal year and for the entire period of operation of the 
     program.
       ``(2) Contents included in report.--Each annual report 
     under paragraph (1) shall include at least the following:
       ``(A) Eligible individuals.--Information for each clinical 
     program described in paragraph (3)--
       ``(i) on the number of individuals who applied for 
     certification under subtitle B and the number of such 
     individuals who were so certified;
       ``(ii) of the individuals who were certified, on the number 
     who received monitoring under the program and the number of 
     such individuals who received medical treatment under the 
     program;
       ``(iii) with respect to individuals so certified who 
     received such treatment, on the WTC-related health conditions 
     for which they were treated; and
       ``(iv) on the projected number of individuals who will be 
     certified under subtitle B in the succeeding fiscal year and 
     the succeeding 10-year period.
       ``(B) Monitoring, initial health evaluation, and treatment 
     costs.--For each clinical program so described--
       ``(i) information on the costs of monitoring and initial 
     health evaluation and the costs of treatment and on the 
     estimated costs of such monitoring, evaluation, and treatment 
     in the succeeding fiscal year; and
       ``(ii) an estimate of the cost of medical treatment for 
     WTC-related health conditions that have been paid for or 
     reimbursed by workers' compensation, by public or private 
     health plans, or by New York City under section 3331.
       ``(C) Administrative costs.--Information on the cost of 
     administering the program, including costs of program 
     support, data collection and analysis, and research conducted 
     under the program.
       ``(D) Administrative experience.--Information on the 
     administrative performance of the program, including--
       ``(i) the performance of the program in providing timely 
     evaluation of and treatment to eligible individuals; and
       ``(ii) a list of the Clinical Centers of Excellence and 
     other providers that are participating in the program.
       ``(E) Scientific reports.--A summary of the findings of any 
     new scientific reports or studies on the health effects 
     associated with exposure described in section 3306(1), 
     including the findings of research conducted under section 
     3341(a).
       ``(F) Advisory committee recommendations.--A list of 
     recommendations by the WTC Scientific/Technical Advisory 
     Committee on additional WTC Program eligibility criteria and 
     on additional WTC-related

[[Page 14687]]

     health conditions and the action of the WTC Program 
     Administrator concerning each such recommendation.
       ``(3) Separate clinical programs described.--In paragraph 
     (2), each of the following shall be treated as a separate 
     clinical program of the WTC Program:
       ``(A) Firefighters and related personnel.--The benefits 
     provided for enrolled WTC responders described in section 
     3311(a)(2)(A).
       ``(B) Other wtc responders.--The benefits provided for 
     enrolled WTC responders not described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(C) WTC survivors.--The benefits provided for screening-
     eligible WTC survivors and certified-eligible WTC survivors 
     in section 3321(a).
       ``(g) Notification to Congress Upon Reaching 80 Percent of 
     Eligibility Numerical Limits.--The Secretary shall promptly 
     notify the Congress of each of the following:
       ``(1) When the number of enrollments of WTC responders 
     subject to the limit established under section 3311(a)(4) has 
     reached 80 percent of such limit.
       ``(2) When the number of certifications for certified-
     eligible WTC survivors subject to the limit established under 
     section 3321(a)(3) has reached 80 percent of such limit.
       ``(h) Consultation.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     engage in ongoing outreach and consultation with relevant 
     stakeholders, including the WTC Health Program Steering 
     Committees and the Advisory Committee under section 3302, 
     regarding the implementation and improvement of programs 
     under this title.

     ``SEC. 3302. WTC HEALTH PROGRAM SCIENTIFIC/TECHNICAL ADVISORY 
                   COMMITTEE; WTC HEALTH PROGRAM STEERING 
                   COMMITTEES.

       ``(a) Advisory Committee.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     establish an advisory committee to be known as the WTC Health 
     Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee (in this 
     subsection referred to as the `Advisory Committee') to review 
     scientific and medical evidence and to make recommendations 
     to the Administrator on additional WTC Program eligibility 
     criteria and on additional WTC-related health conditions.
       ``(2) Composition.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     appoint the members of the Advisory Committee and shall 
     include at least--
       ``(A) 4 occupational physicians, at least 2 of whom have 
     experience treating WTC rescue and recovery workers;
       ``(B) 1 physician with expertise in pulmonary medicine;
       ``(C) 2 environmental medicine or environmental health 
     specialists;
       ``(D) 2 representatives of WTC responders;
       ``(E) 2 representatives of certified-eligible WTC 
     survivors;
       ``(F) an industrial hygienist;
       ``(G) a toxicologist;
       ``(H) an epidemiologist; and
       ``(I) a mental health professional.
       ``(3) Meetings.--The Advisory Committee shall meet at such 
     frequency as may be required to carry out its duties.
       ``(4) Reports.--The WTC Program Administrator shall provide 
     for publication of recommendations of the Advisory Committee 
     on the public Web site established for the WTC Program.
       ``(5) Duration.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Advisory Committee shall continue in operation 
     during the period in which the WTC Program is in operation.
       ``(6) Application of faca.--Except as otherwise 
     specifically provided, the Advisory Committee shall be 
     subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
       ``(b) WTC Health Program Steering Committees.--
       ``(1) Consultation.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     consult with 2 steering committees (each in this section 
     referred to as a `Steering Committee') that are established 
     as follows:
       ``(A) WTC responders steering committee.--One Steering 
     Committee, to be known as the WTC Responders Steering 
     Committee, for the purpose of receiving input from affected 
     stakeholders and facilitating the coordination of monitoring 
     and treatment programs for the enrolled WTC responders under 
     part 1 of subtitle B.
       ``(B) WTC survivors steering committee.--One Steering 
     Committee, to be known as the WTC Survivors Steering 
     Committee, for the purpose of receiving input from affected 
     stakeholders and facilitating the coordination of initial 
     health evaluations, monitoring, and treatment programs for 
     screening-eligible and certified-eligible WTC survivors under 
     part 2 of subtitle B.
       ``(2) Membership.--
       ``(A) WTC responders steering committee.--
       ``(i) Representation.--The WTC Responders Steering 
     Committee shall include--

       ``(I) representatives of the Centers of Excellence 
     providing services to WTC responders;
       ``(II) representatives of labor organizations representing 
     firefighters, police, other New York City employees, and 
     recovery and cleanup workers who responded to the September 
     11, 2001, terrorist attacks; and
       ``(III) 3 representatives of New York City, 1 of whom will 
     be selected by the police commissioner of New York City, 1 by 
     the health commissioner of New York City, and 1 by the mayor 
     of New York City.

       ``(ii) Initial membership.--The WTC Responders Steering 
     Committee shall initially be composed of members of the WTC 
     Monitoring and Treatment Program Steering Committee (as in 
     existence on the day before the date of the enactment of this 
     title).
       ``(B) WTC survivors steering committee.--
       ``(i) Representation.--The WTC Survivors Steering Committee 
     shall include representatives of--

       ``(I) the Centers of Excellence providing services to 
     screening-eligible and certified-eligible WTC survivors;
       ``(II) the population of residents, students, and area and 
     other workers affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
     attacks;
       ``(III) screening-eligible and certified-eligible survivors 
     receiving initial health evaluations, monitoring, or 
     treatment under part 2 of subtitle B and organizations 
     advocating on their behalf; and
       ``(IV) New York City.

       ``(ii) Initial membership.--The WTC Survivors Steering 
     Committee shall initially be composed of members of the WTC 
     Environmental Health Center Survivor Advisory Committee (as 
     in existence on the day before the date of the enactment of 
     this title).
       ``(C) Additional appointments.--Each Steering Committee may 
     recommend, if approved by a majority of voting members of the 
     Committee, additional members to the Committee.
       ``(D) Vacancies.--A vacancy in a Steering Committee shall 
     be filled by an individual recommended by the Steering 
     Committee.

     ``SEC. 3303. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.

       ``The WTC Program Administrator shall institute a program 
     that provides education and outreach on the existence and 
     availability of services under the WTC Program. The outreach 
     and education program--
       ``(1) shall include--
       ``(A) the establishment of a public Web site with 
     information about the WTC Program;
       ``(B) meetings with potentially eligible populations;
       ``(C) development and dissemination of outreach materials 
     informing people about the program; and
       ``(D) the establishment of phone information services; and
       ``(2) shall be conducted in a manner intended--
       ``(A) to reach all affected populations; and
       ``(B) to include materials for culturally and 
     linguistically diverse populations.

     ``SEC. 3304. UNIFORM DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.

       ``(a) In General.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     provide for the uniform collection of data (and analysis of 
     data and regular reports to the Administrator) on the 
     prevalence of WTC-related health conditions and the 
     identification of new WTC-related health conditions. Such 
     data shall be collected for all individuals provided 
     monitoring or treatment benefits under subtitle B and 
     regardless of their place of residence or Clinical Center of 
     Excellence through which the benefits are provided. The WTC 
     Program Administrator shall provide, through the Data Centers 
     or otherwise, for the integration of such data into the 
     monitoring and treatment program activities under this title.
       ``(b) Coordinating Through Centers of Excellence.--Each 
     Clinical Center of Excellence shall collect data described in 
     subsection (a) and report such data to the corresponding Data 
     Center for analysis by such Data Center.
       ``(c) Collaboration With WTC Health Registry.--The WTC 
     Program Administrator shall provide for collaboration between 
     the Data Centers and the World Trade Center Health Registry 
     described in section 3342.
       ``(d) Privacy.--The data collection and analysis under this 
     section shall be conducted and maintained in a manner that 
     protects the confidentiality of individually identifiable 
     health information consistent with applicable statutes and 
     regulations, including, as applicable, HIPAA privacy and 
     security law (as defined in section 3009(a)(2)) and section 
     552a of title 5, United States Code.

     ``SEC. 3305. CLINICAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE AND DATA CENTERS.

       ``(a) In General.--
       ``(1) Contracts with clinical centers of excellence.--The 
     WTC Program Administrator shall, subject to subsection 
     (b)(1)(B), enter into contracts with Clinical Centers of 
     Excellence (as defined in subsection (b)(1)(A))--
       ``(A) for the provision of monitoring and treatment 
     benefits and initial health evaluation benefits under 
     subtitle B;
       ``(B) for the provision of outreach activities to 
     individuals eligible for such monitoring and treatment 
     benefits, for initial health evaluation benefits, and for 
     followup to individuals who are enrolled in the monitoring 
     program;
       ``(C) for the provision of counseling for benefits under 
     subtitle B, with respect to WTC-related health conditions, 
     for individuals eligible for such benefits;

[[Page 14688]]

       ``(D) for the provision of counseling for benefits for WTC-
     related health conditions that may be available under 
     workers' compensation or other benefit programs for work-
     related injuries or illnesses, health insurance, disability 
     insurance, or other insurance plans or through public or 
     private social service agencies and assisting eligible 
     individuals in applying for such benefits;
       ``(E) for the provision of translational and interpretive 
     services for program participants who are not English 
     language proficient; and
       ``(F) for the collection and reporting of data in 
     accordance with section 3304.
       ``(2) Contracts with data centers.--
       ``(A) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     enter into contracts with Data Centers (as defined in 
     subsection (b)(2))--
       ``(i) for receiving, analyzing, and reporting to the WTC 
     Program Administrator on data, in accordance with section 
     3304, that have been collected and reported to such Data 
     Centers by the corresponding Clinical Centers of Excellence 
     under subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii);
       ``(ii) for the development of monitoring, initial health 
     evaluation, and treatment protocols, with respect to WTC-
     related health conditions;
       ``(iii) for coordinating the outreach activities conducted 
     under paragraph (1)(B) by each corresponding Clinical Center 
     of Excellence;
       ``(iv) for establishing criteria for the credentialing of 
     medical providers participating in the nationwide network 
     under section 3313;
       ``(v) for coordinating and administering the activities of 
     the WTC Health Program Steering Committees established under 
     section 3002(b); and
       ``(vi) for meeting periodically with the corresponding 
     Clinical Centers of Excellence to obtain input on the 
     analysis and reporting of data collected under clause (i) and 
     on the development of monitoring, initial health evaluation, 
     and treatment protocols under clause (ii).
       ``(B) Medical provider selection.--The medical providers 
     under subparagraph (A)(iv) shall be selected by the WTC 
     Program Administrator on the basis of their experience 
     treating or diagnosing the health conditions included in the 
     list of WTC-related health conditions.
       ``(C) Clinical discussions.--In carrying out subparagraph 
     (A)(ii), a Data Center shall engage in clinical discussions 
     across the WTC Program to guide treatment approaches for 
     individuals with a WTC-related health condition.
       ``(D) Transparency of data.--A contract entered into under 
     this subsection with a Data Center shall require the Data 
     Center to make any data collected and reported to such Center 
     under subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii) available to health 
     researchers and others as provided in the CDC/ATSDR Policy on 
     Releasing and Sharing Data.
       ``(3) Authority for contracts to be class specific.--A 
     contract entered into under this subsection with a Clinical 
     Center of Excellence or a Data Center may be with respect to 
     one or more class of enrolled WTC responders, screening-
     eligible WTC survivors, or certified-eligible WTC survivors.
       ``(4) Use of cooperative agreements.--Any contract under 
     this title between the WTC Program Administrator and a Data 
     Center or a Clinical Center of Excellence may be in the form 
     of a cooperative agreement.
       ``(b) Centers of Excellence.--
       ``(1) Clinical centers of excellence.--
       ``(A) Definition.--For purposes of this title, the term 
     `Clinical Center of Excellence' means a Center that 
     demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Administrator that 
     the Center--
       ``(i) uses an integrated, centralized health care provider 
     approach to create a comprehensive suite of health services 
     under this title that are accessible to enrolled WTC 
     responders, screening-eligible WTC survivors, or certified-
     eligible WTC survivors;
       ``(ii) has experience in caring for WTC responders and 
     screening-eligible WTC survivors or includes health care 
     providers who have been trained pursuant to section 3313(c);
       ``(iii) employs health care provider staff with expertise 
     that includes, at a minimum, occupational medicine, 
     environmental medicine, trauma-related psychiatry and 
     psychology, and social services counseling; and
       ``(iv) meets such other requirements as specified by the 
     Administrator.
       ``(B) Contract requirements.--The WTC Program Administrator 
     shall not enter into a contract with a Clinical Center of 
     Excellence under subsection (a)(1) unless the Center agrees 
     to do each of the following:
       ``(i) Establish a formal mechanism for consulting with and 
     receiving input from representatives of eligible populations 
     receiving monitoring and treatment benefits under subtitle B 
     from such Center.
       ``(ii) Coordinate monitoring and treatment benefits under 
     subtitle B with routine medical care provided for the 
     treatment of conditions other than WTC-related health 
     conditions.
       ``(iii) Collect and report to the corresponding Data Center 
     data in accordance with section 3304(b).
       ``(iv) Have in place safeguards against fraud that are 
     satisfactory to the Administrator, in consultation with the 
     Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human 
     Services.
       ``(v) Treat or refer for treatment all individuals who are 
     enrolled WTC responders or certified-eligible WTC survivors 
     with respect to such Center who present themselves for 
     treatment of a WTC-related health condition.
       ``(vi) Have in place safeguards, consistent with section 
     3304(c), to ensure the confidentiality of an individual's 
     individually identifiable health information, including 
     requiring that such information not be disclosed to the 
     individual's employer without the authorization of the 
     individual.
       ``(vii) Use amounts paid under subsection (c)(1) only for 
     costs incurred in carrying out the activities described in 
     subsection (a), other than those described in subsection 
     (a)(1)(A).
       ``(viii) Utilize health care providers with occupational 
     and environmental medicine expertise to conduct physical and 
     mental health assessments, in accordance with protocols 
     developed under subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii).
       ``(ix) Communicate with WTC responders and screening-
     eligible and certified-eligible WTC survivors in appropriate 
     languages and conduct outreach activities with relevant 
     stakeholder worker or community associations.
       ``(x) Meet all the other applicable requirements of this 
     title, including regulations implementing such requirements.
       ``(C) Transition rule to ensure continuity of care.--The 
     WTC Program Administrator shall to the maximum extent 
     feasible ensure continuity of care in any period of 
     transition from monitoring and treatment of an enrolled WTC 
     responder or certified-eligible WTC survivor by a provider to 
     a Clinical Center of Excellence or a health care provider 
     participating in the nationwide network under section 3313.
       ``(2) Data centers.--For purposes of this title, the term 
     `Data Center' means a Center that the WTC Program 
     Administrator determines has the capacity to carry out the 
     responsibilities for a Data Center under subsection (a)(2).
       ``(3) Corresponding centers.--For purposes of this title, a 
     Clinical Center of Excellence and a Data Center shall be 
     treated as `corresponding' to the extent that such Clinical 
     Center and Data Center serve the same population group.
       ``(c) Payment for Infrastructure Costs.--
       ``(1) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     reimburse a Clinical Center of Excellence for the fixed 
     infrastructure costs of such Center in carrying out the 
     activities described in subtitle B at a rate negotiated by 
     the Administrator and such Centers. Such negotiated rate 
     shall be fair and appropriate and take into account the 
     number of enrolled WTC responders receiving services from 
     such Center under this title.
       ``(2) Fixed infrastructure costs.--For purposes of 
     paragraph (1), the term `fixed infrastructure costs' means, 
     with respect to a Clinical Center of Excellence, the costs 
     incurred by such Center that are not reimbursable by the WTC 
     Program Administrator under section 3312(c).

     ``SEC. 3306. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this title:
       ``(1) The term `aggravating' means, with respect to a 
     health condition, a health condition that existed on 
     September 11, 2001, and that, as a result of exposure to 
     airborne toxins, any other hazard, or any other adverse 
     condition resulting from the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
     attacks, requires medical treatment that is (or will be) in 
     addition to, more frequent than, or of longer duration than 
     the medical treatment that would have been required for such 
     condition in the absence of such exposure.
       ``(2) The term `certified-eligible WTC survivor' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 3321(a)(2).
       ``(3) The terms `Clinical Center of Excellence' and `Data 
     Center' have the meanings given such terms in section 3305.
       ``(4) The term `enrolled WTC responder' means a WTC 
     responder enrolled under section 3311(a)(3).
       ``(5) The term `initial health evaluation' includes, with 
     respect to an individual, a medical and exposure history, a 
     physical examination, and additional medical testing as 
     needed to evaluate whether the individual has a WTC-related 
     health condition and is eligible for treatment under the WTC 
     Program.
       ``(6) The term `list of WTC-related health conditions' 
     means--
       ``(A) for WTC responders, the health conditions listed in 
     section 3312(a)(3); and
       ``(B) for screening-eligible and certified-eligible WTC 
     survivors, the health conditions listed in section 3322(b).
       ``(7) The term `New York City disaster area' means the area 
     within New York City that is--
       ``(A) the area of Manhattan that is south of Houston 
     Street; and
       ``(B) any block in Brooklyn that is wholly or partially 
     contained within a 1.5-mile radius of the former World Trade 
     Center site.

[[Page 14689]]

       ``(8) The term `New York metropolitan area' means an area, 
     specified by the WTC Program Administrator, within which WTC 
     responders and eligible WTC screening-eligible survivors who 
     reside in such area are reasonably able to access monitoring 
     and treatment benefits and initial health evaluation benefits 
     under this title through a Clinical Center of Excellence 
     described in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of section 
     3305(b)(1).
       ``(9) The term `screening-eligible WTC survivor' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 3321(a)(1).
       ``(10) Any reference to `September 11, 2001' shall be 
     deemed a reference to the period on such date subsequent to 
     the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, Shanksville, 
     Pennsylvania, or the Pentagon, as applicable, on such date.
       ``(11) The term `September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks' 
     means the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 
     2001, in New York City, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at 
     the Pentagon, and includes the aftermath of such attacks.
       ``(12) The term `WTC Health Program Steering Committee' 
     means such a Steering Committee established under section 
     3302(b).
       ``(13) The term `WTC Program' means the Word Trade Center 
     Health Program established under section 3301(a).
       ``(14) The term `WTC Program Administrator' means--
       ``(A) with respect to paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 
     3311(a) (relating to enrollment of WTC responders), section 
     3312(c) and the corresponding provisions of section 3322 
     (relating to payment for initial health evaluation, 
     monitoring, and treatment), paragraphs (1)(C), (2)(B), and 
     (3) of section 3321(a) (relating to determination or 
     certification of screening-eligible or certified-eligible WTC 
     responders), and part 3 of subtitle B (relating to payor 
     provisions), an official in the Department of Health and 
     Human Services, to be designated by the Secretary; and
       ``(B) with respect to any other provision of this title, 
     the Director of the National Institute for Occupational 
     Safety and Health, or a designee of such Director.
       ``(15) The term `WTC-related health condition' is defined 
     in section 3312(a).
       ``(16) The term `WTC responder' is defined in section 
     3311(a).
       ``(17) The term `WTC Scientific/Technical Advisory 
     Committee' means such Committee established under section 
     3302(a).

 ``Subtitle B--Program of Monitoring, Initial Health Evaluations, and 
                               Treatment

                        ``PART 1--WTC RESPONDERS

     ``SEC. 3311. IDENTIFICATION OF WTC RESPONDERS AND PROVISION 
                   OF WTC-RELATED MONITORING SERVICES.

       ``(a) WTC Responder Defined.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this title, the term 
     `WTC responder' means any of the following individuals, 
     subject to paragraph (4):
       ``(A) Currently identified responder.--An individual who 
     has been identified as eligible for monitoring under the 
     arrangements as in effect on the date of the enactment of 
     this title between the National Institute for Occupational 
     Safety and Health and--
       ``(i) the consortium coordinated by Mt. Sinai Hospital in 
     New York City that coordinates the monitoring and treatment 
     for enrolled WTC responders other than with respect to those 
     covered under the arrangement with the Fire Department of New 
     York City; or
       ``(ii) the Fire Department of New York City.
       ``(B) Responder who meets current eligibility criteria.--An 
     individual who meets the current eligibility criteria 
     described in paragraph (2).
       ``(C) Responder who meets modified eligibility criteria.--
     An individual who--
       ``(i) performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris 
     cleanup, or other related services in the New York City 
     disaster area in response to the September 11, 2001, 
     terrorist attacks, regardless of whether such services were 
     performed by a State or Federal employee or member of the 
     National Guard or otherwise; and
       ``(ii) meets such eligibility criteria relating to exposure 
     to airborne toxins, other hazards, or adverse conditions 
     resulting from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as 
     the WTC Program Administrator, after consultation with the 
     WTC Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee, determines 
     appropriate.

     The WTC Program Administrator shall not modify such 
     eligibility criteria on or after the date that the number of 
     enrollments of WTC responders has reached 80 percent of the 
     limit described in paragraph (4) or on or after the date that 
     the number of certifications for certified-eligible WTC 
     survivors under section 3321(a)(2)(B) has reached 80 percent 
     of the limit described in section 3321(a)(3).
       ``(2) Current eligibility criteria.--The eligibility 
     criteria described in this paragraph for an individual is 
     that the individual is described in any of the following 
     categories:
       ``(A) Firefighters and related personnel.--The individual--
       ``(i) was a member of the Fire Department of New York City 
     (whether fire or emergency personnel, active or retired) who 
     participated at least one day in the rescue and recovery 
     effort at any of the former World Trade Center sites 
     (including Ground Zero, Staten Island Landfill, and the New 
     York City Chief Medical Examiner's Office) for any time 
     during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending 
     on July 31, 2002; or
       ``(ii)(I) is a surviving immediate family member of an 
     individual who was a member of the Fire Department of New 
     York City (whether fire or emergency personnel, active or 
     retired) and was killed at the World Trade site on September 
     11, 2001; and
       ``(II) received any treatment for a WTC-related health 
     condition described in section 3312(a)(1)(A)(ii) (relating to 
     mental health conditions) on or before September 1, 2008.
       ``(B) Law enforcement officers and wtc rescue, recovery, 
     and cleanup workers.--The individual--
       ``(i) worked or volunteered onsite in rescue, recovery, 
     debris cleanup, or related support services in lower 
     Manhattan (south of Canal St.), the Staten Island Landfill, 
     or the barge loading piers, for at least 4 hours during the 
     period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on 
     September 14, 2001, for at least 24 hours during the period 
     beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on September 30, 
     2001, or for at least 80 hours during the period beginning on 
     September 11, 2001, and ending on July 31, 2002;
       ``(ii)(I) was a member of the Police Department of New York 
     City (whether active or retired) or a member of the Port 
     Authority Police of the Port Authority of New York and New 
     Jersey (whether active or retired) who participated onsite in 
     rescue, recovery, debris cleanup, or related services in 
     lower Manhattan (south of Canal St.), including Ground Zero, 
     the Staten Island Landfill, or the barge loading piers, for 
     at least 4 hours during the period beginning September 11, 
     2001, and ending on September 14, 2001;
       ``(II) participated onsite in rescue, recovery, debris 
     cleanup, or related services in at Ground Zero, the Staten 
     Island Landfill, or the barge loading piers, for at least one 
     day during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and 
     ending on July 31, 2002;
       ``(III) participated onsite in rescue, recovery, debris 
     cleanup, or related services in lower Manhattan (south of 
     Canal St.) for at least 24 hours during the period beginning 
     on September 11, 2001, and ending on September 30, 2001; or
       ``(IV) participated onsite in rescue, recovery, debris 
     cleanup, or related services in lower Manhattan (south of 
     Canal St.) for at least 80 hours during the period beginning 
     on September 11, 2001, and ending on July 31, 2002;
       ``(iii) was an employee of the Office of the Chief Medical 
     Examiner of New York City involved in the examination and 
     handling of human remains from the World Trade Center 
     attacks, or other morgue worker who performed similar post-
     September 11 functions for such Office staff, during the 
     period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on July 
     31, 2002;
       ``(iv) was a worker in the Port Authority Trans-Hudson 
     Corporation Tunnel for at least 24 hours during the period 
     beginning on February 1, 2002, and ending on July 1, 2002; or
       ``(v) was a vehicle-maintenance worker who was exposed to 
     debris from the former World Trade Center while retrieving, 
     driving, cleaning, repairing, and maintaining vehicles 
     contaminated by airborne toxins from the September 11, 2001, 
     terrorist attacks during a duration and period described in 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(C) Responders to the september 11 attacks at the 
     pentagon and shanksville, pennsylvania.--The individual--
       ``(i)(I) was a member of a fire or police department 
     (whether fire or emergency personnel, active or retired), 
     worked for a recovery or cleanup contractor, or was a 
     volunteer; and performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris 
     cleanup, or other related services at the Pentagon site of 
     the terrorist-related aircraft crash of September 11, 2001, 
     during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending 
     on the date on which the cleanup of the site was concluded, 
     as determined by the WTC Program Administrator; or
       ``(II) was a member of a fire or police department (whether 
     fire or emergency personnel, active or retired), worked for a 
     recovery or cleanup contractor, or was a volunteer; and 
     performed rescue, recovery, demolition, debris cleanup, or 
     other related services at the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, site 
     of the terrorist-related aircraft crash of September 11, 
     2001, during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and 
     ending on the date on which the cleanup of the site was 
     concluded, as determined by the WTC Program Administrator; 
     and
       ``(ii) is determined by the WTC Program Administrator to be 
     at an increased risk of developing a WTC-related health 
     condition as a result of exposure to airborne toxins, other 
     hazards, or adverse conditions resulting from the September 
     11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and meets such eligibility 
     criteria related to such exposures, as the WTC Program 
     Administrator determines are appropriate, after consultation 
     with the WTC Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee.
       ``(3) Enrollment process.--

[[Page 14690]]

       ``(A) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     establish a process for enrolling WTC responders in the WTC 
     Program. Under such process--
       ``(i) WTC responders described in paragraph (1)(A) shall be 
     deemed to be enrolled in such Program;
       ``(ii) subject to clause (iii), the Administrator shall 
     enroll in such program individuals who are determined to be 
     WTC responders;
       ``(iii) the Administrator shall deny such enrollment to an 
     individual if the Administrator determines that the numerical 
     limitation in paragraph (4) on enrollment of WTC responders 
     has been met;
       ``(iv) there shall be no fee charged to the applicant for 
     making an application for such enrollment;
       ``(v) the Administrator shall make a determination on such 
     an application not later than 60 days after the date of 
     filing the application; and
       ``(vi) an individual who is denied enrollment in such 
     Program shall have an opportunity to appeal such 
     determination in a manner established under such process.
       ``(B) Timing.--
       ``(i) Currently identified responders.--In accordance with 
     subparagraph (A)(i), the WTC Program Administrator shall 
     enroll an individual described in paragraph (1)(A) in the WTC 
     Program not later than July 1, 2011.
       ``(ii) Other responders.--In accordance with subparagraph 
     (A)(ii) and consistent with paragraph (4), the WTC Program 
     Administrator shall enroll any other individual who is 
     determined to be a WTC responder in the WTC Program at the 
     time of such determination.
       ``(4) Numerical limitation on eligible wtc responders.--
       ``(A) In general.--The total number of individuals not 
     described in paragraph (1)(A) or (2)(A)(ii) who may be 
     enrolled under paragraph (3)(A)(ii) shall not exceed 25,000 
     at any time, of which no more than 2,500 may be individuals 
     enrolled based on modified eligibility criteria established 
     under paragraph (1)(C).
       ``(B) Process.--In implementing subparagraph (A), the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall--
       ``(i) limit the number of enrollments made under paragraph 
     (3)--

       ``(I) in accordance with such subparagraph; and
       ``(II) to such number, as determined by the Administrator 
     based on the best available information and subject to 
     amounts available under section 3351, that will ensure 
     sufficient funds will be available to provide treatment and 
     monitoring benefits under this title, with respect to all 
     individuals who are enrolled through the end of fiscal year 
     2020; and

       ``(ii) provide priority (subject to paragraph (3)(A)(i)) in 
     such enrollments in the order in which individuals apply for 
     enrollment under paragraph (3).
       ``(5) Disqualification of individuals on terrorist watch 
     list.--No individual who is on the terrorist watch list 
     maintained by the Department of Homeland Security shall 
     qualify as an eligible WTC responder. Before enrolling any 
     individual as a WTC responder in the WTC Program under 
     paragraph (3), the Administrator, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Homeland Security, shall determine whether the 
     individual is on such list.
       ``(b) Monitoring Benefits.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of an enrolled WTC responder 
     (other than one described in subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii)), the 
     WTC Program shall provide for monitoring benefits that 
     include monitoring consistent with protocols approved by the 
     WTC Program Administrator and including clinical examinations 
     and long-term health monitoring and analysis. In the case of 
     an enrolled WTC responder who is an active member of the Fire 
     Department of New York City, the responder shall receive such 
     benefits as part of the individual's periodic company medical 
     exams.
       ``(2) Provision of monitoring benefits.--The monitoring 
     benefits under paragraph (1) shall be provided through the 
     Clinical Center of Excellence for the type of individual 
     involved or, in the case of an individual residing outside 
     the New York metropolitan area, under an arrangement under 
     section 3313.

     ``SEC. 3312. TREATMENT OF ENROLLED WTC RESPONDERS FOR WTC-
                   RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS.

       ``(a) WTC-Related Health Condition Defined.--
       ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this title, the term 
     `WTC-related health condition' means a condition that--
       ``(A)(i) is an illness or health condition for which 
     exposure to airborne toxins, any other hazard, or any other 
     adverse condition resulting from the September 11, 2001, 
     terrorist attacks, based on an examination by a medical 
     professional with experience in treating or diagnosing the 
     health conditions included in the applicable list of WTC-
     related health conditions, is substantially likely to be a 
     significant factor in aggravating, contributing to, or 
     causing the illness or health condition, as determined under 
     paragraph (2); or
       ``(ii) is a mental health condition for which such attacks, 
     based on an examination by a medical professional with 
     experience in treating or diagnosing the health conditions 
     included in the applicable list of WTC-related health 
     conditions, is substantially likely to be a significant 
     factor in aggravating, contributing to, or causing the 
     condition, as determined under paragraph (2); and
       ``(B) is included in the applicable list of WTC-related 
     health conditions or--
       ``(i) with respect to a WTC responder, is provided 
     certification of coverage under subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii); or
       ``(ii) with respect to a screening-eligible WTC survivor or 
     certified-eligible WTC survivor, is provided certification of 
     coverage under subsection (b)(2)(B)(iii), as applied under 
     section 3322(a).

     In the case of a WTC responder described in section 
     3311(a)(2)(A)(ii) (relating to a surviving immediate family 
     member of a firefighter), such term does not include an 
     illness or health condition described in subparagraph (A)(i).
       ``(2) Determination.--The determination under paragraph (1) 
     or subsection (b) of whether the September 11, 2001, 
     terrorist attacks were substantially likely to be a 
     significant factor in aggravating, contributing to, or 
     causing an individual's illness or health condition shall be 
     made based on an assessment of the following:
       ``(A) The individual's exposure to airborne toxins, any 
     other hazard, or any other adverse condition resulting from 
     the terrorist attacks. Such exposure shall be--
       ``(i) evaluated and characterized through the use of a 
     standardized, population-appropriate questionnaire approved 
     by the Director of the National Institute for Occupational 
     Safety and Health; and
       ``(ii) assessed and documented by a medical professional 
     with experience in treating or diagnosing health conditions 
     included on the list of WTC-related health conditions.
       ``(B) The type of symptoms and temporal sequence of 
     symptoms. Such symptoms shall be--
       ``(i) assessed through the use of a standardized, 
     population-appropriate medical questionnaire approved by the 
     Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety 
     and Health and a medical examination; and
       ``(ii) diagnosed and documented by a medical professional 
     described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
       ``(3) List of health conditions for wtc responders.--The 
     list of health conditions for WTC responders consists of the 
     following:
       ``(A) Aerodigestive disorders.--
       ``(i) Interstitial lung diseases.
       ``(ii) Chronic respiratory disorder--fumes/vapors.
       ``(iii) Asthma.
       ``(iv) Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).
       ``(v) WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 
     (COPD).
       ``(vi) Chronic cough syndrome.
       ``(vii) Upper airway hyperreactivity.
       ``(viii) Chronic rhinosinusitis.
       ``(ix) Chronic nasopharyngitis.
       ``(x) Chronic laryngitis.
       ``(xi) Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD).
       ``(xii) Sleep apnea exacerbated by or related to a 
     condition described in a previous clause.
       ``(B) Mental health conditions.--
       ``(i) Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
       ``(ii) Major depressive disorder.
       ``(iii) Panic disorder.
       ``(iv) Generalized anxiety disorder.
       ``(v) Anxiety disorder (not otherwise specified).
       ``(vi) Depression (not otherwise specified).
       ``(vii) Acute stress disorder.
       ``(viii) Dysthymic disorder.
       ``(ix) Adjustment disorder.
       ``(x) Substance abuse.
       ``(C) Musculoskeletal disorders for certain wtc 
     responders.--In the case of a WTC responder described in 
     paragraph (4), a condition described in such paragraph.
       ``(D) Additional conditions.--Any cancer (or type of 
     cancer) or other condition added, pursuant to paragraph (5) 
     or (6), to the list under this paragraph.
       ``(4) Musculoskeletal disorders.--
       ``(A) In general.--For purposes of this title, in the case 
     of a WTC responder who received any treatment for a WTC-
     related musculoskeletal disorder on or before September 11, 
     2003, the list of health conditions in paragraph (3) shall 
     include:
       ``(i) Low back pain.
       ``(ii) Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).
       ``(iii) Other musculoskeletal disorders.
       ``(B) Definition.--The term `WTC-related musculoskeletal 
     disorder' means a chronic or recurrent disorder of the 
     musculoskeletal system caused by heavy lifting or repetitive 
     strain on the joints or musculoskeletal system occurring 
     during rescue or recovery efforts in the New York City 
     disaster area in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, 
     terrorist attacks.
       ``(5) Cancer.--
       ``(A) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     periodically conduct a review of all available scientific and 
     medical evidence, including findings and recommendations of 
     Clinical Centers of Excellence, published in peer-reviewed 
     journals to determine if, based on such evidence, cancer or a 
     certain type of cancer should be added to the applicable list 
     of WTC-related health conditions. The WTC Program 
     Administrator

[[Page 14691]]

     shall conduct the first review under this subparagraph not 
     later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     title.
       ``(B) Proposed regulations and rulemaking.--Based on the 
     periodic reviews under subparagraph (A), if the WTC Program 
     Administrator determines that cancer or a certain type of 
     cancer should be added to such list of WTC-related health 
     conditions, the WTC Program Administrator shall propose 
     regulations, through rulemaking, to add cancer or the certain 
     type of cancer to such list.
       ``(C) Final regulations.--Based on all the available 
     evidence in the rulemaking record, the WTC Program 
     Administrator shall make a final determination of whether 
     cancer or a certain type of cancer should be added to such 
     list of WTC-related health conditions. If such a 
     determination is made to make such an addition, the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall by regulation add cancer or the 
     certain type of cancer to such list.
       ``(D) Determinations not to add cancer or certain types of 
     cancer.--In the case that the WTC Program Administrator 
     determines under subparagraph (B) or (C) that cancer or a 
     certain type of cancer should not be added to such list of 
     WTC-related health conditions, the WTC Program Administrator 
     shall publish an explanation for such determination in the 
     Federal Register. Any such determination to not make such an 
     addition shall not preclude the addition of cancer or the 
     certain type of cancer to such list at a later date.
       ``(6) Addition of health conditions to list for wtc 
     responders.--
       ``(A) In general.--Whenever the WTC Program Administrator 
     determines that a proposed rule should be promulgated to add 
     a health condition to the list of health conditions in 
     paragraph (3), the Administrator may request a recommendation 
     of the Advisory Committee or may publish such a proposed rule 
     in the Federal Register in accordance with subparagraph (D).
       ``(B) Administrator's options after receipt of petition.--
     In the case that the WTC Program Administrator receives a 
     written petition by an interested party to add a health 
     condition to the list of health conditions in paragraph (3), 
     not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of such 
     petition the Administrator shall--
       ``(i) request a recommendation of the Advisory Committee;
       ``(ii) publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register to 
     add such health condition, in accordance with subparagraph 
     (D);
       ``(iii) publish in the Federal Register the Administrator's 
     determination not to publish such a proposed rule and the 
     basis for such determination; or
       ``(iv) publish in the Federal Register a determination that 
     insufficient evidence exists to take action under clauses (i) 
     through (iii).
       ``(C) Action by advisory committee.--In the case that the 
     Administrator requests a recommendation of the Advisory 
     Committee under this paragraph, with respect to adding a 
     health condition to the list in paragraph (3), the Advisory 
     Committee shall submit to the Administrator such 
     recommendation not later than 60 days after the date of such 
     request or by such date (not to exceed 180 days after such 
     date of request) as specified by the Administrator. Not later 
     than 60 days after the date of receipt of such 
     recommendation, the Administrator shall, in accordance with 
     subparagraph (D), publish in the Federal Register a proposed 
     rule with respect to such recommendation or a determination 
     not to propose such a proposed rule and the basis for such 
     determination.
       ``(D) Publication.--The WTC Program Administrator shall, 
     with respect to any proposed rule under this paragraph--
       ``(i) publish such proposed rule in accordance with section 
     553 of title 5, United States Code; and
       ``(ii) provide interested parties a period of 30 days after 
     such publication to submit written comments on the proposed 
     rule.
     The WTC Program Administrator may extend the period described 
     in clause (ii) upon a finding of good cause. In the case of 
     such an extension, the Administrator shall publish such 
     extension in the Federal Register.
       ``(E) Interested party defined.--For purposes of this 
     paragraph, the term `interested party' includes a 
     representative of any organization representing WTC 
     responders, a nationally recognized medical association, a 
     Clinical or Data Center, a State or political subdivision, or 
     any other interested person.
       ``(b) Coverage of Treatment for WTC-Related Health 
     Conditions.--
       ``(1) Determination for enrolled wtc responders based on a 
     wtc-related health condition.--
       ``(A) In general.--If a physician at a Clinical Center of 
     Excellence that is providing monitoring benefits under 
     section 3311 for an enrolled WTC responder makes a 
     determination that the responder has a WTC-related health 
     condition that is in the list in subsection (a)(3) and that 
     exposure to airborne toxins, other hazards, or adverse 
     conditions resulting from the September 1, 2001, terrorist 
     attacks is substantially likely to be a significant factor in 
     aggravating, contributing to, or causing the condition--
       ``(i) the physician shall promptly transmit such 
     determination to the WTC Program Administrator and provide 
     the Administrator with the medical facts supporting such 
     determination; and
       ``(ii) on and after the date of such transmittal and 
     subject to subparagraph (B), the WTC Program shall provide 
     for payment under subsection (c) for medically necessary 
     treatment for such condition.
       ``(B) Review; certification; appeals.--
       ``(i) Review.--A Federal employee designated by the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall review determinations made under 
     subparagraph (A).
       ``(ii) Certification.--The Administrator shall provide a 
     certification of such condition based upon reviews conducted 
     under clause (i). Such a certification shall be provided 
     unless the Administrator determines that the responder's 
     condition is not a WTC-related health condition in the list 
     in subsection (a)(3) or that exposure to airborne toxins, 
     other hazards, or adverse conditions resulting from the 
     September 1, 2001, terrorist attacks is not substantially 
     likely to be a significant factor in aggravating, 
     contributing to, or causing the condition.
       ``(iii) Appeal process.--The Administrator shall establish, 
     by rule, a process for the appeal of determinations under 
     clause (ii).
       ``(2) Determination based on medically associated wtc-
     related health conditions.--
       ``(A) In general.--If a physician at a Clinical Center of 
     Excellence determines pursuant to subsection (a) that the 
     enrolled WTC responder has a health condition described in 
     subsection (a)(1)(A) that is not in the list in subsection 
     (a)(3) but which is medically associated with a WTC-related 
     health condition--
       ``(i) the physician shall promptly transmit such 
     determination to the WTC Program Administrator and provide 
     the Administrator with the facts supporting such 
     determination; and
       ``(ii) the Administrator shall make a determination under 
     subparagraph (B) with respect to such physician's 
     determination.
       ``(B) Procedures for review, certification, and appeal.--
     The WTC Program Administrator shall, by rule, establish 
     procedures for the review and certification of physician 
     determinations under subparagraph (A). Such rule shall 
     provide for--
       ``(i) the timely review of such a determination by a 
     physician panel with appropriate expertise for the condition 
     and recommendations to the WTC Program Administrator;
       ``(ii) not later than 60 days after the date of the 
     transmittal under subparagraph (A)(i), a determination by the 
     WTC Program Administrator on whether or not the condition 
     involved is described in subsection (a)(1)(A) and is 
     medically associated with a WTC-related health condition;
       ``(iii) certification in accordance with paragraph 
     (1)(B)(ii) of coverage of such condition if determined to be 
     described in subsection (a)(1)(A) and medically associated 
     with a WTC-related health condition; and
       ``(iv) a process for appeals of determinations relating to 
     such conditions.
       ``(C) Inclusion in list of health conditions.--If the WTC 
     Program Administrator provides certification under 
     subparagraph (B)(iii) for coverage of a condition, the 
     Administrator may, pursuant to subsection (a)(6), add the 
     condition to the list in subsection (a)(3).
       ``(D) Conditions already declined for inclusion in list.--
     If the WTC Program Administrator publishes a determination 
     under subsection (a)(6)(B) not to include a condition in the 
     list in subsection (a)(3), the WTC Program Administrator 
     shall not provide certification under subparagraph (B)(iii) 
     for coverage of the condition. In the case of an individual 
     who is certified under subparagraph (B)(iii) with respect to 
     such condition before the date of the publication of such 
     determination the previous sentence shall not apply.
       ``(3) Requirement of medical necessity.--
       ``(A) In general.--In providing treatment for a WTC-related 
     health condition, a physician or other provider shall provide 
     treatment that is medically necessary and in accordance with 
     medical treatment protocols established under subsection (d).
       ``(B) Regulations relating to medical necessity.--For the 
     purpose of this title, the WTC Program Administrator shall 
     issue regulations specifying a standard for determining 
     medical necessity with respect to health care services and 
     prescription pharmaceuticals, a process for determining 
     whether treatment furnished and pharmaceuticals prescribed 
     under this title meet such standard (including any prior 
     authorization requirement), and a process for appeal of a 
     determination under subsection (c)(3).
       ``(4) Scope of treatment covered.--
       ``(A) In general.--The scope of treatment covered under 
     this subsection includes services of physicians and other 
     health care providers, diagnostic and laboratory tests, 
     prescription drugs, inpatient and outpatient hospital 
     services, and other medically necessary treatment.
       ``(B) Pharmaceutical coverage.--With respect to ensuring 
     coverage of medically necessary outpatient prescription 
     drugs, such drugs shall be provided, under arrangements made 
     by the WTC Program Administrator, directly through 
     participating Clinical Centers of Excellence or through one 
     or more outside vendors.

[[Page 14692]]

       ``(C) Transportation expenses for nationwide network.--The 
     WTC Program Administrator may provide for necessary and 
     reasonable transportation and expenses incident to the 
     securing of medically necessary treatment through the 
     nationwide network under section 3313 involving travel of 
     more than 250 miles and for which payment is made under this 
     section in the same manner in which individuals may be 
     furnished necessary and reasonable transportation and 
     expenses incident to services involving travel of more than 
     250 miles under regulations implementing section 3629(c) of 
     the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation 
     Program Act of 2000 (title XXXVI of Public Law 106-398; 42 
     U.S.C. 7384t(c)).
       ``(5) Provision of treatment pending certification.--With 
     respect to an enrolled WTC responder for whom a determination 
     is made by an examining physician under paragraph (1) or (2), 
     but for whom the WTC Program Administrator has not yet 
     determined whether to certify the determination, the WTC 
     Program Administrator may establish by rule a process through 
     which the Administrator may approve the provision of medical 
     treatment under this subsection (and payment under subsection 
     (c)) with respect to such responder and such responder's WTC-
     related health condition (under such terms and conditions as 
     the Administrator may provide) until the Administrator makes 
     a decision on whether to certify the determination.
       ``(c) Payment for Initial Health Evaluation, Monitoring, 
     and Treatment of WTC-Related Health Conditions.--
       ``(1) Medical treatment.--
       ``(A) Use of feca payment rates.--Subject to subparagraphs 
     (B) and (C), the WTC Program Administrator shall reimburse 
     costs for medically necessary treatment under this title for 
     WTC-related health conditions according to the payment rates 
     that would apply to the provision of such treatment and 
     services by the facility under the Federal Employees 
     Compensation Act. For treatment not covered under the 
     previous sentence or subparagraph (B), the WTC Program 
     Administrator shall establish by regulation a reimbursement 
     rate for such treatment.
       ``(B) Pharmaceuticals.--
       ``(i) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     establish a program for paying for the medically necessary 
     outpatient prescription pharmaceuticals prescribed under this 
     title for WTC-related health conditions through one or more 
     contracts with outside vendors.
       ``(ii) Competitive bidding.--Under such program the 
     Administrator shall--

       ``(I) select one or more appropriate vendors through a 
     Federal competitive bid process; and
       ``(II) select the lowest bidder (or bidders) meeting the 
     requirements for providing pharmaceutical benefits for 
     participants in the WTC Program.

       ``(iii) Treatment of fdny participants.--Under such program 
     the Administrator may enter into an agreement with a separate 
     vendor to provide pharmaceutical benefits to enrolled WTC 
     responders for whom the Clinical Center of Excellence is 
     described in section 3305 if such an arrangement is deemed 
     necessary and beneficial to the program by the WTC Program 
     Administrator.
       ``(C) Improving quality and efficiency through modification 
     of payment amounts and methodologies.--The WTC Program 
     Administrator may modify the amounts and methodologies for 
     making payments for initial health evaluations, monitoring, 
     or treatment, if, taking into account utilization and quality 
     data furnished by the Clinical Centers of Excellence under 
     section 3305(b)(1)(B)(iii), the Administrator determines that 
     a bundling, capitation, pay for performance, or other payment 
     methodology would better ensure high quality and efficient 
     delivery of initial health evaluations, monitoring, or 
     treatment to an enrolled WTC responder, screening-eligible 
     WTC survivor, or certified-eligible WTC survivor.
       ``(2) Monitoring and initial health evaluation.--The WTC 
     Program Administrator shall reimburse the costs of monitoring 
     and the costs of an initial health evaluation provided under 
     this title at a rate set by the Administrator by regulation.
       ``(3) Determination of medical necessity.--
       ``(A) Review of medical necessity and protocols.--As part 
     of the process for reimbursement or payment under this 
     subsection, the WTC Program Administrator shall provide for 
     the review of claims for reimbursement or payment for the 
     provision of medical treatment to determine if such treatment 
     is medically necessary and in accordance with medical 
     treatment protocols established under subsection (d).
       ``(B) Withholding of payment for medically unnecessary 
     treatment.--The Administrator shall withhold such 
     reimbursement or payment for treatment that the Administrator 
     determines is not medically necessary or is not in accordance 
     with such medical treatment protocols.
       ``(d) Medical Treatment Protocols.--
       ``(1) Development.--The Data Centers shall develop medical 
     treatment protocols for the treatment of enrolled WTC 
     responders and certified-eligible WTC survivors for health 
     conditions included in the applicable list of WTC-related 
     health conditions.
       ``(2) Approval.--The medical treatment protocols developed 
     under paragraph (1) shall be subject to approval by the WTC 
     Program Administrator.

     ``SEC. 3313. NATIONAL ARRANGEMENT FOR BENEFITS FOR ELIGIBLE 
                   INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE NEW YORK.

       ``(a) In General.--In order to ensure reasonable access to 
     benefits under this subtitle for individuals who are enrolled 
     WTC responders, screening-eligible WTC survivors, or 
     certified-eligible WTC survivors and who reside in any State, 
     as defined in section 2(f), outside the New York metropolitan 
     area, the WTC Program Administrator shall establish a 
     nationwide network of health care providers to provide 
     monitoring and treatment benefits and initial health 
     evaluations near such individuals' areas of residence in such 
     States. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as 
     preventing such individuals from being provided such 
     monitoring and treatment benefits or initial health 
     evaluation through any Clinical Center of Excellence.
       ``(b) Network Requirements.--Any health care provider 
     participating in the network under subsection (a) shall--
       ``(1) meet criteria for credentialing established by the 
     Data Centers;
       ``(2) follow the monitoring, initial health evaluation, and 
     treatment protocols developed under section 
     3305(a)(2)(A)(ii);
       ``(3) collect and report data in accordance with section 
     3304; and
       ``(4) meet such fraud, quality assurance, and other 
     requirements as the WTC Program Administrator establishes, 
     including sections 1128 through 1128E of the Social Security 
     Act, as applied by section 3301(d).
       ``(c) Training and Technical Assistance.--The WTC Program 
     Administer may provide, including through contract, for the 
     provision of training and technical assistance to health care 
     providers participating in the network under subsection (a).

                        ``PART 2--WTC SURVIVORS

     ``SEC. 3321. IDENTIFICATION AND INITIAL HEALTH EVALUATION OF 
                   SCREENING-ELIGIBLE AND CERTIFIED-ELIGIBLE WTC 
                   SURVIVORS.

       ``(a) Identification of Screening-Eligible WTC Survivors 
     and Certified-Eligible WTC Survivors.--
       ``(1) Screening-eligible wtc survivors.--
       ``(A) Definition.--In this title, the term `screening-
     eligible WTC survivor' means, subject to subparagraph (C) and 
     paragraph (3), an individual who is described in any of the 
     following clauses:
       ``(i) Currently identified survivor.--An individual, 
     including a WTC responder, who has been identified as 
     eligible for medical treatment and monitoring by the WTC 
     Environmental Health Center as of the date of enactment of 
     this title.
       ``(ii) Survivor who meets current eligibility criteria.--An 
     individual who is not a WTC responder, for purposes of the 
     initial health evaluation under subsection (b), claims 
     symptoms of a WTC-related health condition and meets any of 
     the current eligibility criteria described in subparagraph 
     (B).
       ``(iii) Survivor who meets modified eligibility criteria.--
     An individual who is not a WTC responder, for purposes of the 
     initial health evaluation under subsection (b), claims 
     symptoms of a WTC-related health condition and meets such 
     eligibility criteria relating to exposure to airborne toxins, 
     other hazards, or adverse conditions resulting from the 
     September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the WTC 
     Administrator determines, after consultation with the Data 
     Centers described in section 3305 and the WTC Scientific/
     Technical Advisory Committee and WTC Health Program Steering 
     Committees under section 3302.
     The Administrator shall not modify such criteria under clause 
     (iii) on or after the date that the number of certifications 
     for certified-eligible WTC survivors under paragraph (2)(B) 
     has reached 80 percent of the limit described in paragraph 
     (3) or on or after the date that the number of enrollments of 
     WTC responders has reached 80 percent of the limit described 
     in section 3311(a)(4).
       ``(B) Current eligibility criteria.--The eligibility 
     criteria described in this subparagraph for an individual are 
     that the individual is described in any of the following 
     clauses:
       ``(i) A person who was present in the New York City 
     disaster area in the dust or dust cloud on September 11, 
     2001.
       ``(ii) A person who worked, resided, or attended school, 
     childcare, or adult daycare in the New York City disaster 
     area for--

       ``(I) at least 4 days during the 4-month period beginning 
     on September 11, 2001, and ending on January 10, 2002; or
       ``(II) at least 30 days during the period beginning on 
     September 11, 2001, and ending on July 31, 2002.

       ``(iii) Any person who worked as a cleanup worker or 
     performed maintenance work in the New York City disaster area 
     during the 4-month period described in subparagraph (B)(i) 
     and had extensive exposure to WTC dust as a result of such 
     work.
       ``(iv) A person who was deemed eligible to receive a grant 
     from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Residential 
     Grant Program, who possessed a lease for a residence or 
     purchased a residence in the New

[[Page 14693]]

     York City disaster area, and who resided in such residence 
     during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending 
     on May 31, 2003.
       ``(v) A person whose place of employment--

       ``(I) at any time during the period beginning on September 
     11, 2001, and ending on May 31, 2003, was in the New York 
     City disaster area; and
       ``(II) was deemed eligible to receive a grant from the 
     Lower Manhattan Development Corporation WTC Small Firms 
     Attraction and Retention Act program or other government 
     incentive program designed to revitalize the lower Manhattan 
     economy after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

       ``(C) Application and determination process for screening 
     eligibility.--
       ``(i) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator in 
     consultation with the Data Centers shall establish a process 
     for individuals, other than individuals described in 
     subparagraph (A)(i), to be determined to be screening-
     eligible WTC survivors. Under such process--

       ``(I) there shall be no fee charged to the applicant for 
     making an application for such determination;
       ``(II) the Administrator shall make a determination on such 
     an application not later than 60 days after the date of 
     filing the application;
       ``(III) the Administrator shall make such a determination 
     relating to an applicant's compliance with this title and 
     shall not determine that an individual is not so eligible or 
     deny written documentation under clause (ii) to such 
     individual unless the Administrator determines that--

       ``(aa) based on the application submitted, the individual 
     does not meet the eligibility criteria; or
       ``(bb) the numerical limitation on certifications of 
     certified-eligible WTC survivors set forth in paragraph (3) 
     has been met; and

       ``(IV) an individual who is determined not to be a 
     screening-eligible WTC survivor shall have an opportunity to 
     appeal such determination in a manner established under such 
     process.

       ``(ii) Written documentation of screening-eligibility.--

       ``(I) In general.--In the case of an individual who is 
     described in subparagraph (A)(i) or who is determined under 
     clause (i) (consistent with paragraph (3)) to be a screening-
     eligible WTC survivor, the WTC Program Administrator shall 
     provide an appropriate written documentation of such fact.
       ``(II) Timing.--

       ``(aa) Currently identified survivors.--In the case of an 
     individual who is described in subparagraph (A)(i), the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall provide the written documentation 
     under subclause (I) not later than July 1, 2011.
       ``(bb) Other members.--In the case of another individual 
     who is determined under clause (i) and consistent with 
     paragraph (3) to be a screening-eligible WTC survivor, the 
     WTC Program Administrator shall provide the written 
     documentation under subclause (I) at the time of such 
     determination.
       ``(2) Certified-eligible wtc survivors.--
       ``(A) Definition.--The term `certified-eligible WTC 
     survivor' means, subject to paragraph (3), a screening-
     eligible WTC survivor who the WTC Program Administrator 
     certifies under subparagraph (B) to be eligible for followup 
     monitoring and treatment under this part.
       ``(B) Certification of eligibility for monitoring and 
     treatment.--
       ``(i) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     establish a certification process under which the 
     Administrator shall provide appropriate certification to 
     screening-eligible WTC survivors who, pursuant to the initial 
     health evaluation under subsection (b), are determined to be 
     eligible for followup monitoring and treatment under this 
     part.
       ``(ii) Timing.--

       ``(I) Currently identified survivors.--In the case of an 
     individual who is described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall provide the certification under 
     clause (i) not later than July 1, 2011.
       ``(II) Other members.--In the case of another individual 
     who is determined under clause (i) to be eligible for 
     followup monitoring and treatment, the WTC Program 
     Administrator shall provide the certification under such 
     clause at the time of such determination.

       ``(3) Numerical limitation on certified-eligible wtc 
     survivors.--
       ``(A) In general.--The total number of individuals not 
     described in paragraph (1)(A)(i) who may be certified as 
     certified-eligible WTC survivors under paragraph (2)(B) shall 
     not exceed 25,000 at any time.
       ``(B) Process.--In implementing subparagraph (A), the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall--
       ``(i) limit the number of certifications provided under 
     paragraph (2)(B)--

       ``(I) in accordance with such subparagraph; and
       ``(II) to such number, as determined by the Administrator 
     based on the best available information and subject to 
     amounts made available under section 3351, that will ensure 
     sufficient funds will be available to provide treatment and 
     monitoring benefits under this title, with respect to all 
     individuals receiving such certifications through the end of 
     fiscal year 2020; and

       ``(ii) provide priority in such certifications in the order 
     in which individuals apply for a determination under 
     paragraph (2)(B).
       ``(4) Disqualification of individuals on terrorist watch 
     list.--No individual who is on the terrorist watch list 
     maintained by the Department of Homeland Security shall 
     qualify as a screening-eligible WTC survivor or a certified-
     eligible WTC survivor. Before determining any individual to 
     be a screening-eligible WTC survivor under paragraph (1) or 
     certifying any individual as a certified eligible WTC 
     survivor under paragraph (2), the Administrator, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall 
     determine whether the individual is on such list.
       ``(b) Initial Health Evaluation To Determine Eligibility 
     for Followup Monitoring or Treatment.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of a screening-eligible WTC 
     survivor, the WTC Program shall provide for an initial health 
     evaluation to determine if the survivor has a WTC-related 
     health condition and is eligible for followup monitoring and 
     treatment benefits under the WTC Program. Initial health 
     evaluation protocols under section 3305(a)(2)(A)(ii) shall be 
     subject to approval by the WTC Program Administrator.
       ``(2) Initial health evaluation providers.--The initial 
     health evaluation described in paragraph (1) shall be 
     provided through a Clinical Center of Excellence with respect 
     to the individual involved.
       ``(3) Limitation on initial health evaluation benefits.--
     Benefits for an initial health evaluation under this part for 
     a screening-eligible WTC survivor shall consist only of a 
     single medical initial health evaluation consistent with 
     initial health evaluation protocols described in paragraph 
     (1). Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as 
     preventing such an individual from seeking additional medical 
     initial health evaluations at the expense of the individual.

     ``SEC. 3322. FOLLOWUP MONITORING AND TREATMENT OF CERTIFIED-
                   ELIGIBLE WTC SURVIVORS FOR WTC-RELATED HEALTH 
                   CONDITIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the 
     provisions of sections 3311 and 3312 shall apply to followup 
     monitoring and treatment of WTC-related health conditions for 
     certified-eligible WTC survivors in the same manner as such 
     provisions apply to the monitoring and treatment of WTC-
     related health conditions for enrolled WTC responders.
       ``(b) List of WTC-Related Health Conditions for 
     Survivors.--The list of health conditions for screening-
     eligible WTC survivors and certified-eligible WTC survivors 
     consists of the following:
       ``(1) Aerodigestive disorders.--
       ``(A) Interstitial lung diseases.
       ``(B) Chronic respiratory disorder--fumes/vapors.
       ``(C) Asthma.
       ``(D) Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS).
       ``(E) WTC-exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 
     (COPD).
       ``(F) Chronic cough syndrome.
       ``(G) Upper airway hyperreactivity.
       ``(H) Chronic rhinosinusitis.
       ``(I) Chronic nasopharyngitis.
       ``(J) Chronic laryngitis.
       ``(K) Gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD).
       ``(L) Sleep apnea exacerbated by or related to a condition 
     described in a previous clause.
       ``(2) Mental health conditions.--
       ``(A) Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
       ``(B) Major depressive disorder.
       ``(C) Panic disorder.
       ``(D) Generalized anxiety disorder.
       ``(E) Anxiety disorder (not otherwise specified).
       ``(F) Depression (not otherwise specified).
       ``(G) Acute stress disorder.
       ``(H) Dysthymic disorder.
       ``(I) Adjustment disorder.
       ``(J) Substance abuse.
       ``(3) Additional conditions.--Any cancer (or type of 
     cancer) or other condition added to the list in section 
     3312(a)(3) pursuant to paragraph (5) or (6) of section 
     3312(a), as such provisions are applied under subsection (a) 
     with respect to certified-eligible WTC survivors.

     ``SEC. 3323. FOLLOWUP MONITORING AND TREATMENT OF OTHER 
                   INDIVIDUALS WITH WTC-RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (c), the 
     provisions of section 3322 shall apply to the followup 
     monitoring and treatment of WTC-related health conditions in 
     the case of individuals described in subsection (b) in the 
     same manner as such provisions apply to the followup 
     monitoring and treatment of WTC-related health conditions for 
     certified-eligible WTC survivors.
       ``(b) Individuals Described.--An individual described in 
     this subsection is an individual who, regardless of location 
     of residence--
       ``(1) is not an enrolled WTC responder or a certified-
     eligible WTC survivor; and
       ``(2) is diagnosed at a Clinical Center of Excellence with 
     a WTC-related health condition for certified-eligible WTC 
     survivors.
       ``(c) Limitation.--
       ``(1) In general.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     limit benefits for any fiscal

[[Page 14694]]

     year under subsection (a) in a manner so that payments under 
     this section for such fiscal year do not exceed the amount 
     specified in paragraph (2) for such fiscal year.
       ``(2) Limitation.--The amount specified in this paragraph 
     for--
       ``(A) the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011 is 
     $5,000,000;
       ``(B) fiscal year 2012 is $20,000,000; or
       ``(C) a succeeding fiscal year is the amount specified in 
     this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased by the 
     annual percentage increase in the medical care component of 
     the consumer price index for all urban consumers.

                       ``PART 3--PAYOR PROVISIONS

     ``SEC. 3331. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.

       ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) 
     and (c), the cost of monitoring and treatment benefits and 
     initial health evaluation benefits provided under parts 1 and 
     2 of this subtitle shall be paid for by the WTC Program from 
     the World Trade Center Health Program Fund.
       ``(b) Workers' Compensation Payment.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), payment for 
     treatment under parts 1 and 2 of this subtitle of a WTC-
     related health condition of an individual that is work-
     related shall be reduced or recouped to the extent that the 
     WTC Program Administrator determines that payment has been 
     made, or can reasonably be expected to be made, under a 
     workers' compensation law or plan of the United States, a 
     State, or a locality, or other work-related injury or illness 
     benefit plan of the employer of such individual, for such 
     treatment. The provisions of clauses (iii), (iv), (v), and 
     (vi) of paragraph (2)(B) of section 1862(b) of the Social 
     Security Act and paragraphs (3) and (4) of such section shall 
     apply to the recoupment under this subsection of a payment to 
     the WTC Program (with respect to a workers' compensation law 
     or plan, or other work-related injury or illness plan of the 
     employer involved, and such individual) in the same manner as 
     such provisions apply to the reimbursement of a payment under 
     section 1862(b)(2) of such Act to the Secretary (with respect 
     to such a law or plan and an individual entitled to benefits 
     under title XVIII of such Act) except that any reference in 
     such paragraph (4) to payment rates under title XVIII of the 
     Social Security Act shall be deemed a reference to payment 
     rates under this title.
       ``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply for any 
     quarter, with respect to any workers' compensation law or 
     plan, including line of duty compensation, to which New York 
     City is obligated to make payments, if, in accordance with 
     terms specified under the contract under subsection 
     (d)(1)(A), New York City has made the full payment required 
     under such contract for such quarter.
       ``(3) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this title shall 
     be construed to affect, modify, or relieve any obligations 
     under a worker's compensation law or plan, other work-related 
     injury or illness benefit plan of an employer, or any health 
     insurance plan.
       ``(c) Health Insurance Coverage.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of an individual who has a 
     WTC-related health condition that is not work-related and has 
     health coverage for such condition through any public or 
     private health plan (including health benefits under title 
     XVIII, XIX, or XXI of the Social Security Act) the provisions 
     of section 1862(b) of the Social Security Act shall apply to 
     such a health plan and such individual in the same manner as 
     they apply to group health plan and an individual entitled to 
     benefits under title XVIII of such Act pursuant to section 
     226(a) of such Act. Any costs for items and services covered 
     under such plan that are not reimbursed by such health plan, 
     due to the application of deductibles, copayments, 
     coinsurance, other cost sharing, or otherwise, are 
     reimbursable under this title to the extent that they are 
     covered under the WTC Program. The program under this title 
     shall not be treated as a legally liable party for purposes 
     of applying section 1902(a)(25) of the Social Security Act.
       ``(2) Recovery by individual providers.--Nothing in 
     paragraph (1) shall be construed as requiring an entity 
     providing monitoring and treatment under this title to seek 
     reimbursement under a health plan with which the entity has 
     no contract for reimbursement.
       ``(3) Maintenance of required minimum essential coverage.--
     No payment may be made for monitoring and treatment under 
     this title for an individual for a month (beginning with July 
     2014) if with respect to such month the individual--
       ``(A) is an applicable individual (as defined in subsection 
     (d) of section 5000A of Internal Revenue Code of 1986) for 
     whom the exemption under subsection (e) of such section does 
     not apply; and
       ``(B) is not covered under minimum essential coverage, as 
     required under subsection (a) of such section.
       ``(d) Required Contribution by New York City in Program 
     Costs.--
       ``(1) Contract requirement.--
       ``(A) In general.--No funds may be disbursed from the World 
     Trade Center Health Program Fund under section 3351 unless 
     New York City has entered into a contract with the WTC 
     Program Administrator under which New York City agrees, in a 
     form and manner specified by the Administrator, to pay the 
     full contribution described in subparagraph (B) in accordance 
     with this subsection on a timely basis, plus any interest 
     owed pursuant to subparagraph (E)(i). Such contract shall 
     specify the terms under which New York City shall be 
     considered to have made the full payment required for a 
     quarter for purposes of subsection (b)(2).
       ``(B) Full contribution amount.--Under such contract, with 
     respect to the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011 and 
     each calendar quarter in fiscal years 2012 through 2018 the 
     full contribution amount under this subparagraph shall be 
     equal to 10 percent of the expenditures in carrying out this 
     title for the respective quarter and with respect to calendar 
     quarters in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, such full 
     contribution amount shall be equal to \1/9\ of the Federal 
     expenditures in carrying out this title for the respective 
     quarter.
       ``(C) Satisfaction of payment obligation.--The payment 
     obligation under such contract may not be satisfied through 
     any of the following:
       ``(i) An amount derived from Federal sources.
       ``(ii) An amount paid before the date of the enactment of 
     this title.
       ``(iii) An amount paid to satisfy a judgment or as part of 
     a settlement related to injuries or illnesses arising out of 
     the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
       ``(D) Timing of contribution.--The payment obligation under 
     such contract for a calendar quarter in a fiscal year shall 
     be paid not later than the last day of the second succeeding 
     calendar quarter.
       ``(E) Compliance.--
       ``(i) Interest for late payment.--If New York City fails to 
     pay to the WTC Program Administrator pursuant to such 
     contract the amount required for any calendar quarter by the 
     day specified in subparagraph (D), interest shall accrue on 
     the amount not so paid at the rate (determined by the 
     Administrator) based on the average yield to maturity, plus 1 
     percentage point, on outstanding municipal bonds issued by 
     New York City with a remaining maturity of at least 1 year.
       ``(ii) Recovery of amounts owed.-- The amounts owed to the 
     WTC Program Administrator under such contract shall be 
     recoverable by the United States in an action in the same 
     manner as payments made under title XVIII of the Social 
     Security Act may be recoverable in an action brought under 
     section 1862(b)(2)(B)(iii) of such Act.
       ``(F) Deposit in fund.--The WTC Program Administer shall 
     deposit amounts paid under such contract into the World Trade 
     Center Health Program Fund under section 3351.
       ``(2) Payment of new york city share of monitoring and 
     treatment costs.--With respect to each calendar quarter for 
     which a contribution is required by New York City under the 
     contract under paragraph (1), the WTC Program Administrator 
     shall--
       ``(A) provide New York City with an estimate of such amount 
     of the required contribution at the beginning of such quarter 
     and with an updated estimate of such amount at the beginning 
     of each of the subsequent 2 quarters;
       ``(B) bill such amount directly to New York City; and
       ``(C) certify periodically, for purposes of this 
     subsection, whether or not New York City has paid the amount 
     so billed.
     Such amount shall initially be estimated by the WTC Program 
     Administrator and shall be subject to adjustment and 
     reconciliation based upon actual expenditures in carrying out 
     this title.
       ``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
     shall be construed as authorizing the WTC Administrator, with 
     respect to a fiscal year, to reduce the numerical limitation 
     under section 3311(a)(4) or 3321(a)(3) for such fiscal year 
     if New York City fails to comply with paragraph (1) for a 
     calendar quarter in such fiscal year.
       ``(e) Work-Related Described.--For the purposes of this 
     section, a WTC-related health condition shall be treated as a 
     condition that is work-related if--
       ``(1) the condition is diagnosed in an enrolled WTC 
     responder, or in an individual who qualifies as a certified-
     eligible WTC survivor on the basis of being a rescue, 
     recovery, or cleanup worker; or
       ``(2) with respect to the condition the individual has 
     filed and had established a claim under a workers' 
     compensation law or plan of the United States or a State, or 
     other work-related injury or illness benefit plan of the 
     employer of such individual.

     ``SEC. 3332. ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENT AUTHORITY.

       ``The WTC Program Administrator may enter into arrangements 
     with other government agencies, insurance companies, or other 
     third-party administrators to provide for timely and accurate 
     processing of claims under sections 3312, 3313, 3322, and 
     3323.

                 ``Subtitle C--Research Into Conditions

     ``SEC. 3341. RESEARCH REGARDING CERTAIN HEALTH CONDITIONS 
                   RELATED TO SEPTEMBER 11 TERRORIST ATTACKS.

       ``(a) In General.--With respect to individuals, including 
     enrolled WTC responders and certified-eligible WTC survivors, 
     receiving monitoring or treatment under subtitle B, the WTC 
     Program Administrator shall conduct or support--

[[Page 14695]]

       ``(1) research on physical and mental health conditions 
     that may be related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
     attacks;
       ``(2) research on diagnosing WTC-related health conditions 
     of such individuals, in the case of conditions for which 
     there has been diagnostic uncertainty; and
       ``(3) research on treating WTC-related health conditions of 
     such individuals, in the case of conditions for which there 
     has been treatment uncertainty.
     The Administrator may provide such support through 
     continuation and expansion of research that was initiated 
     before the date of the enactment of this title and through 
     the World Trade Center Health Registry (referred to in 
     section 3342), through a Clinical Center of Excellence, or 
     through a Data Center.
       ``(b) Types of Research.--The research under subsection 
     (a)(1) shall include epidemiologic and other research studies 
     on WTC-related health conditions or emerging conditions--
       ``(1) among enrolled WTC responders and certified-eligible 
     WTC survivors under treatment; and
       ``(2) in sampled populations outside the New York City 
     disaster area in Manhattan as far north as 14th Street and in 
     Brooklyn, along with control populations, to identify 
     potential for long-term adverse health effects in less 
     exposed populations.
       ``(c) Consultation.--The WTC Program Administrator shall 
     carry out this section in consultation with the WTC 
     Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee.
       ``(d) Application of Privacy and Human Subject 
     Protections.--The privacy and human subject protections 
     applicable to research conducted under this section shall not 
     be less than such protections applicable to research 
     conducted or funded by the Department of Health and Human 
     Services.

     ``SEC. 3342. WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH REGISTRY.

       ``For the purpose of ensuring ongoing data collection 
     relating to victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
     attacks, the WTC Program Administrator shall ensure that a 
     registry of such victims is maintained that is at least as 
     comprehensive as the World Trade Center Health Registry 
     maintained under the arrangements in effect as of April 20, 
     2009, with the New York City Department of Health and Mental 
     Hygiene.

                         ``Subtitle D--Funding

     ``SEC. 3351. WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM FUND.

       ``(a) Establishment of Fund.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is established a fund to be known 
     as the World Trade Center Health Program Fund (referred to in 
     this section as the `Fund').
       ``(2) Funding.--Out of any money in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, there shall be deposited into the 
     Fund for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2020 (and the last 
     calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011)--
       ``(A) the Federal share, consisting of an amount equal to 
     the lesser of--
       ``(i) 90 percent of the expenditures in carrying out this 
     title for the respective fiscal year (initially based on 
     estimates, subject to subsequent reconciliation based on 
     actual expenditures); or
       ``(ii)(I) $71,000,000 for the last calendar quarter of 
     fiscal year 2011, $318,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, 
     $354,000,000 for fiscal year 2013, $382,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2014, $431,000,000 for fiscal year 2015, $481,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2016, $537,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, 
     $601,000,000 for fiscal year 2018, and $173,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2019; and
       ``(II) subject to paragraph (4), an additional $499,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2019 and $743,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 
     plus
       ``(B) the New York City share, consisting of the amount 
     contributed under the contract under section 3331(d).
       ``(3) Contract requirement.--
       ``(A) In general.--No funds may be disbursed from the Fund 
     unless New York City has entered into a contract with the WTC 
     Program Administrator under section 3331(d)(1).
       ``(B) Breach of contract.-- In the case of a failure to pay 
     the amount so required under the contract--
       ``(i) the amount is recoverable under subparagraph (E)(ii) 
     of such section;
       ``(ii) such failure shall not affect the disbursement of 
     amounts from the Fund; and
       ``(iii) the Federal share described in paragraph (2)(A) 
     shall not be increased by the amount so unpaid.
       ``(4) Aggregate limitation on funding beginning with fiscal 
     year 2019.--Beginning with fiscal year 2019, in no case shall 
     the share of Federal funds deposited into the Fund under 
     paragraph (2) for such fiscal year and previous fiscal years 
     and quarters exceed the sum of the amounts specified in 
     paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(I).
       ``(b) Mandatory Funds for Monitoring, Initial Health 
     Evaluations, Treatment, and Claims Processing.--
       ``(1) In general.--The amounts deposited into the Fund 
     under subsection (a)(2) shall be available, without further 
     appropriation, consistent with paragraph (2) and subsection 
     (c), to carry out subtitle B and sections 3302(a), 3303, 
     3304, 3305(a)(2), 3305(c), 3341, and 3342.
       ``(2) Limitation on mandatory funding.--This title does not 
     establish any Federal obligation for payment of amounts in 
     excess of the amounts available from the Fund for such 
     purpose.
       ``(3) Limitation on authorization for further 
     appropriations.--This title does not establish any 
     authorization for appropriation of amounts in excess of the 
     amounts available from the Fund under paragraph (1).
       ``(c) Limits on Spending for Certain Purposes.--Of the 
     amounts made available under subsection (b)(1), not more than 
     each of the following amounts may be available for each of 
     the following purposes:
       ``(1) Surviving immediate family members of firefighters.--
     For the purposes of carrying out subtitle B with respect to 
     WTC responders described in section 3311(a)(2)(A)(ii)--
       ``(A) for the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011, 
     $100,000;
       ``(B) for fiscal year 2012, $400,000; and
       ``(C) for each subsequent fiscal year, the amount specified 
     under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased 
     by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for 
     all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) 
     as estimated by the Secretary for the 12-month period ending 
     with March of the previous year.
       ``(2) WTC health program scientific/technical advisory 
     committee.--For the purpose of carrying out section 3302(a)--
       ``(A) for the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011, 
     $25,000;
       ``(B) for fiscal year 2012, $100,000; and
       ``(C) for each subsequent fiscal year, the amount specified 
     under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased 
     by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for 
     all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) 
     as estimated by the Secretary for the 12-month period ending 
     with March of the previous year.
       ``(3) Education and outreach.--For the purpose of carrying 
     out section 3303--
       ``(A) for the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011, 
     $500,000;
       ``(B) for fiscal year 2012, $2,000,000; and
       ``(C) for each subsequent fiscal year, the amount specified 
     under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased 
     by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for 
     all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) 
     as estimated by the Secretary for the 12-month period ending 
     with March of the previous year.
       ``(4) Uniform data collection.--For the purpose of carrying 
     out section 3304 and for reimbursing Data Centers (as defined 
     in section 3305(b)(2)) for the costs incurred by such Centers 
     in carrying out activities under contracts entered into under 
     section 3305(a)(2)--
       ``(A) for the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011, 
     $2,500,000;
       ``(B) for fiscal year 2012, $10,000,000; and
       ``(C) for each subsequent fiscal year, the amount specified 
     under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased 
     by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for 
     all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) 
     as estimated by the Secretary for the 12-month period ending 
     with March of the previous year.
       ``(5) Research regarding certain health conditions.--For 
     the purpose of carrying out section 3341--
       ``(A) for the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011, 
     $3,750,000;
       ``(B) for fiscal year 2012, $15,000,000; and
       ``(C) for each subsequent fiscal year, the amount specified 
     under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased 
     by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for 
     all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) 
     as estimated by the Secretary for the 12-month period ending 
     with March of the previous year.
       ``(6) World trade center health registry.--For the purpose 
     of carrying out section 3342--
       ``(A) for the last calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011, 
     $1,750,000;
       ``(B) for fiscal year 2012, $7,000,000; and
       ``(C) for each subsequent fiscal year, the amount specified 
     under this paragraph for the previous fiscal year increased 
     by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for 
     all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) 
     as estimated by the Secretary for the 12-month period ending 
     with March of the previous year.''.

       TITLE II--SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND OF 2001

     SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 402 of the Air Transportation Safety and System 
     Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (6) by inserting ``, or debris removal, 
     including under the World Trade Center Health Program 
     established under section 3001 of the Public Health Service 
     Act, and payments made pursuant to the settlement of a civil 
     action described in section 405(c)(3)(C)(iii)'' after 
     ``September 11, 2001'';
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new 
     paragraphs and redesignating subsequent paragraphs 
     accordingly:
       ``(7) Contractor and subcontractor.--The term `contractor 
     and subcontractor' means any contractor or subcontractor (at 
     any tier of a subcontracting relationship), including any 
     general contractor, construction manager, prime contractor, 
     consultant, or any parent, subsidiary, associated or allied 
     company, affiliated company, corporation, firm, organization, 
     or joint venture thereof that

[[Page 14696]]

     participated in debris removal at any 9/11 crash site. Such 
     term shall not include any entity, including the Port 
     Authority of New York and New Jersey, with a property 
     interest in the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001, 
     whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, direct or 
     indirect.
       ``(8) Debris removal.--The term `debris removal' means 
     rescue and recovery efforts, removal of debris, cleanup, 
     remediation, and response during the immediate aftermath of 
     the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, 
     with respect to a 9/11 crash site.'';
       (3) by inserting after paragraph (10), as so redesignated, 
     the following new paragraph and redesignating the subsequent 
     paragraphs accordingly:
       ``(11) Immediate aftermath.--The term `immediate aftermath' 
     means any period beginning with the terrorist-related 
     aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, and ending on August 
     30, 2002.''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(14) 9/11 crash site.--The term `9/11 crash site' means--
       ``(A) the World Trade Center site, Pentagon site, and 
     Shanksville, Pennsylvania site;
       ``(B) the buildings or portions of buildings that were 
     destroyed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft 
     crashes of September 11, 2001;
       ``(C) any area contiguous to a site of such crashes that 
     the Special Master determines was sufficiently close to the 
     site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm 
     resulting from the impact of the aircraft or any subsequent 
     fire, explosions, or building collapses (including the 
     immediate area in which the impact occurred, fire occurred, 
     portions of buildings fell, or debris fell upon and injured 
     individuals); and
       ``(D) any area related to, or along, routes of debris 
     removal, such as barges and Fresh Kills.''.

     SEC. 202. EXTENDED AND EXPANDED ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSATION.

       (a) Information on Losses Resulting From Debris Removal 
     Included in Contents of Claim Form.--Section 405(a)(2)(B) of 
     the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act 
     (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended--
       (1) in clause (i), by inserting ``, or debris removal 
     during the immediate aftermath'' after ``September 11, 
     2001'';
       (2) in clause (ii), by inserting ``or debris removal during 
     the immediate aftermath'' after ``crashes''; and
       (3) in clause (iii), by inserting ``or debris removal 
     during the immediate aftermath'' after ``crashes''.
       (b) Extension of Deadline for Claims Under September 11th 
     Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.--Section 405(a)(3) of such 
     Act is amended to read as follows:
       ``(3) Limitation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided by subparagraph (B), 
     no claim may be filed under paragraph (1) after the date that 
     is 2 years after the date on which regulations are 
     promulgated under section 407(a).
       ``(B) Exception.--A claim may be filed under paragraph (1), 
     in accordance with subsection (c)(3)(A)(i), by an individual 
     (or by a personal representative on behalf of a deceased 
     individual) during the period beginning on the date on which 
     the regulations are updated under section 407(b) and ending 
     on December 22, 2031.''.
       (c) Requirements for Filing Claims During Extended Filing 
     Period.--Section 405(c)(3) of such Act is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as 
     subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as so 
     redesignated, the following new subparagraph:
       ``(A) Requirements for filing claims during extended filing 
     period.--
       ``(i) Timing requirements for filing claims.--An individual 
     (or a personal representative on behalf of a deceased 
     individual) may file a claim during the period described in 
     subsection (a)(3)(B) as follows:

       ``(I) In the case that the Special Master determines the 
     individual knew (or reasonably should have known) before the 
     date specified in clause (iii) that the individual suffered a 
     physical harm at a 9/11 crash site as a result of the 
     terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or 
     as a result of debris removal, and that the individual knew 
     (or should have known) before such specified date that the 
     individual was eligible to file a claim under this title, the 
     individual may file a claim not later than the date that is 2 
     years after such specified date.
       ``(II) In the case that the Special Master determines the 
     individual first knew (or reasonably should have known) on or 
     after the date specified in clause (iii) that the individual 
     suffered such a physical harm or that the individual first 
     knew (or should have known) on or after such specified date 
     that the individual was eligible to file a claim under this 
     title, the individual may file a claim not later than the 
     last day of the 2-year period beginning on the date the 
     Special Master determines the individual first knew (or 
     should have known) that the individual both suffered from 
     such harm and was eligible to file a claim under this title.

       ``(ii) Other eligibility requirements for filing claims.--
     An individual may file a claim during the period described in 
     subsection (a)(3)(B) only if--

       ``(I) the individual was treated by a medical professional 
     for suffering from a physical harm described in clause (i)(I) 
     within a reasonable time from the date of discovering such 
     harm; and
       ``(II) the individual's physical harm is verified by 
     contemporaneous medical records created by or at the 
     direction of the medical professional who provided the 
     medical care.

       ``(iii) Date specified.--The date specified in this clause 
     is the date on which the regulations are updated under 
     section 407(a).''.
       (d) Clarifying Applicability to All 9/11 Crash Sites.--
     Section 405(c)(2)(A)(i) of such Act is amended by striking 
     ``or the site of the aircraft crash at Shanksville, 
     Pennsylvania'' and inserting ``the site of the aircraft crash 
     at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, or any other 9/11 crash site''.
       (e) Inclusion of Physical Harm Resulting From Debris 
     Removal.--Section 405(c) of such Act is amended in paragraph 
     (2)(A)(ii), by inserting ``or debris removal'' after ``air 
     crash''.
       (f) Limitations on Civil Actions.--
       (1) Application to damages related to debris removal.--
     Clause (i) of section 405(c)(3)(C) of such Act, as 
     redesignated by subsection (c), is amended by inserting ``, 
     or for damages arising from or related to debris removal'' 
     after ``September 11, 2001''.
       (2) Pending actions.--Clause (ii) of such section, as so 
     redesignated, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(ii) Pending actions.--In the case of an individual who 
     is a party to a civil action described in clause (i), such 
     individual may not submit a claim under this title--

       ``(I) during the period described in subsection (a)(3)(A) 
     unless such individual withdraws from such action by the date 
     that is 90 days after the date on which regulations are 
     promulgated under section 407(a); and
       ``(II) during the period described in subsection (a)(3)(B) 
     unless such individual withdraws from such action by the date 
     that is 90 days after the date on which the regulations are 
     updated under section 407(b).''.

       (3) Settled actions; authority to reinstitute certain 
     lawsuits.--Such section, as so redesignated, is further 
     amended by adding at the end the following new clauses:
       ``(iii) Settled actions.--In the case of an individual who 
     settled a civil action described in clause (i), such 
     individual may not submit a claim under this title unless 
     such action was commenced after December 22, 2003, and a 
     release of all claims in such action was tendered prior to 
     the date on which the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and 
     Compensation Act of 2010 was enacted.
       ``(iv) Authority to reinstitute certain lawsuits.--In the 
     case of a claimant who was a party to a civil action 
     described in clause (i), who withdrew from such action 
     pursuant to clause (ii), and who is subsequently determined 
     to not be an eligible individual for purposes of this 
     subsection, such claimant may reinstitute such action without 
     prejudice during the 90-day period beginning after the date 
     of such ineligibility determination.''.

     SEC. 203. REQUIREMENT TO UPDATE REGULATIONS.

       Section 407 of the Air Transportation Safety and System 
     Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``Not later than'' and inserting ``(a) In 
     General.--Not later than''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(b) Updated Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after 
     the date of the enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health 
     and Compensation Act of 2010, the Special Master shall update 
     the regulations promulgated under subsection (a) to the 
     extent necessary to comply with the provisions of title II of 
     such Act.''.

     SEC. 204. LIMITED LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN CLAIMS.

       Section 408(a) of the Air Transportation Safety and System 
     Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following new paragraphs:
       ``(4) Liability for certain claims.--Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law, liability for all claims and actions 
     (including claims or actions that have been previously 
     resolved, that are currently pending, and that may be filed 
     through December 22, 2031) for compensatory damages, 
     contribution or indemnity, or any other form or type of 
     relief, arising from or related to debris removal, against 
     the City of New York, any entity (including the Port 
     Authority of New York and New Jersey) with a property 
     interest in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 
     (whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, or direct or 
     indirect) and any contractors and subcontractors, shall not 
     be in an amount that exceeds the sum of the following, as may 
     be applicable:
       ``(A) The amount of funds of the WTC Captive Insurance 
     Company, including the cumulative interest.
       ``(B) The amount of all available insurance identified in 
     schedule 2 of the WTC Captive Insurance Company insurance 
     policy.
       ``(C) As it relates to the limitation of liability of the 
     City of New York, the amount that is the greater of the City 
     of New York's insurance coverage or $350,000,000. In 
     determining the amount of the City's insurance

[[Page 14697]]

     coverage for purposes of the previous sentence, any amount 
     described in clauses (i) and (ii) shall not be included.
       ``(D) As it relates to the limitation of liability of any 
     entity, including the Port Authority of New York and New 
     Jersey, with a property interest in the World Trade Center on 
     September 11, 2001 (whether fee simple, leasehold or 
     easement, or direct or indirect), the amount of all available 
     liability insurance coverage maintained by any such entity.
       ``(E) As it relates to the limitation of liability of any 
     individual contractor or subcontractor, the amount of all 
     available liability insurance coverage maintained by such 
     contractor or subcontractor on September 11, 2001.
       ``(5) Priority of claims payments.--Payments to plaintiffs 
     who obtain a settlement or judgment with respect to a claim 
     or action to which paragraph (4)(A) applies, shall be paid 
     solely from the following funds in the following order, as 
     may be applicable:
       ``(A) The funds described in clause (i) or (ii) of 
     paragraph (4)(A).
       ``(B) If there are no funds available as described in 
     clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (4)(A), the funds described 
     in clause (iii) of such paragraph.
       ``(C) If there are no funds available as described in 
     clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (4)(A), the funds 
     described in clause (iv) of such paragraph.
       ``(D) If there are no funds available as described in 
     clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (4)(A), the 
     funds described in clause (v) of such paragraph.
       ``(6) Declaratory judgment actions and direct action.--Any 
     party to a claim or action to which paragraph (4)(A) applies 
     may, with respect to such claim or action, either file an 
     action for a declaratory judgment for insurance coverage or 
     bring a direct action against the insurance company 
     involved.''.

     SEC. 205. FUNDING; ATTORNEY FEES.

       Section 406 of the Air Transportation Safety and System 
     Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Not later than'' and 
     inserting ``Subject to the limitations under subsection (d), 
     not later than'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by inserting ``in the amounts provided under subsection 
     (d)(1)'' after ``appropriations Acts''; and
       (B) by inserting ``subject to the limitations under 
     subsection (d)'' before the period; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
       ``(d) Limitation.--
       ``(1) In general.--The total amount of Federal funds paid 
     for compensation under this title, with respect to claims 
     filed on or after the date on which the regulations are 
     updated under section 407(b), shall not exceed 
     $8,400,000,000. Of such amounts, $4,200,000,000 shall be 
     available to pay such claims during the 10-year period 
     beginning on such date and $4,200,000,000 shall be available 
     to pay such claims after such period.
       ``(2) Pro-ration and payment of remaining claims.--
       ``(A) In general.--With respect to the one-year period 
     beginning on the date on which the first payment is made 
     under this title for claims filed pursuant to the regulations 
     updated under section 407(b), the Special Master shall 
     examine the total number of such claims paid during such 
     period and the amounts of the payments made for such claims 
     to project the total number and amount of claims expected to 
     be paid under this title during the 10-year period described 
     in paragraph (1). If, based on such projection, the Special 
     Master determines that there will be insufficient funds 
     available under paragraph (1) to pay such claims during such 
     10-year period, beginning on the first day following such 
     one-year period, the Special Master shall ratably reduce the 
     amount of compensation due claimants under this title in a 
     manner to ensure, to the extent possible, that--
       ``(i) all claimants who, before application of the 
     limitation under the second sentence of paragraph (1), would 
     have been determined to be entitled to a payment under this 
     title during such 10-year period, receive a payment during 
     such period; and
       ``(ii) the total amount of all such payments made during 
     such 10-year period do not exceed the amount available under 
     the second sentence of paragraph (1) to pay claims during 
     such period.
       ``(B) Payment of remainder of claim amounts.--In any case 
     in which the amount of a claim is ratably reduced pursuant to 
     subparagraph (A), on or after the first day after the 10-year 
     period described in paragraph (1), the Special Master shall 
     pay to the claimant the amount that is equal to the 
     difference between--
       ``(i) the amount that the claimant would have been paid 
     under this title during such period without regard to the 
     limitation under the second sentence of paragraph (1) 
     applicable to such period; and
       ``(ii) the amount the claimant was paid under this title 
     during such period.
       ``(e) Attorney Fees.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any contract, and except 
     as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the representative of 
     an individual may not charge, for services rendered in 
     connection with the claim of an individual under this title, 
     more than 10 percent of an award made under this title on 
     such claim.
       ``(2) Limitation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     in the case of an individual who was charged a legal fee in 
     connection with the settlement of a civil action described in 
     section 405(c)(3)(C)(iii),  the representative of the 
     individual may not charge any amount for compensation for 
     services rendered in connection with a claim filed under this 
     title.
       ``(B) Exception.--If the legal fee charged in connection 
     with the settlement of a civil action described in section 
     405(c)(3)(C)(iii) of an individual is less than 10 percent of 
     the aggregate amount of compensation awarded to such 
     individual through such settlement and the claim of the 
     individual under this title, the representative of such 
     individual may charge an amount for compensation for services 
     rendered in connection with such claim under this title to 
     the extent that such amount charged is not more than--
       ``(i) 10 percent of such aggregate amount, minus
       ``(ii) the total amount of all legal fees charged for 
     services rendered in connection with such settlement.
       ``(3) Exception.--With respect to a claim made on behalf of 
     an individual for whom a lawsuit was filed in the Southern 
     District of New York prior to January 1, 2009, in the event 
     that the representative believes in good faith that the fee 
     limit set by paragraph (1) or (2) will not provide adequate 
     compensation for services rendered in connection with such 
     claim because of the substantial amount of legal work 
     provided on behalf of the claimant (including work performed 
     before the enactment of this legislation), application for 
     greater compensation may be made to the Special Master. Upon 
     such application, the Special Master may, in his or her 
     discretion, award as reasonable compensation for services 
     rendered an amount greater than that allowed for in paragraph 
     (1). Such fee award will be final, binding, and non-
     appealable.''.

    TITLE III--LIMITATION ON TREATY BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN DEDUCTIBLE 
        PAYMENTS; TIME FOR PAYMENT OF CORPORATE ESTIMATED TAXES

     SEC. 301. LIMITATION ON TREATY BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN 
                   DEDUCTIBLE PAYMENTS.

       (a) In General.--Section 894 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 (relating to income affected by treaty) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Limitation on Treaty Benefits for Certain Deductible 
     Payments.--
       ``(1) In general.--In the case of any deductible related-
     party payment, any withholding tax imposed under chapter 3 
     (and any tax imposed under subpart A or B of this part) with 
     respect to such payment may not be reduced under any treaty 
     of the United States unless any such withholding tax would be 
     reduced under a treaty of the United States if such payment 
     were made directly to the foreign parent corporation.
       ``(2) Deductible related-party payment.--For purposes of 
     this subsection, the term `deductible related-party payment' 
     means any payment made, directly or indirectly, by any person 
     to any other person if the payment is allowable as a 
     deduction under this chapter and both persons are members of 
     the same foreign controlled group of entities.
       ``(3) Foreign controlled group of entities.--For purposes 
     of this subsection--
       ``(A) In general.--The term `foreign controlled group of 
     entities' means a controlled group of entities the common 
     parent of which is a foreign corporation.
       ``(B) Controlled group of entities.--The term `controlled 
     group of entities' means a controlled group of corporations 
     as defined in section 1563(a)(1), except that--
       ``(i) `more than 50 percent' shall be substituted for `at 
     least 80 percent' each place it appears therein, and
       ``(ii) the determination shall be made without regard to 
     subsections (a)(4) and (b)(2) of section 1563.

     A partnership or any other entity (other than a corporation) 
     shall be treated as a member of a controlled group of 
     entities if such entity is controlled (within the meaning of 
     section 954(d)(3)) by members of such group (including any 
     entity treated as a member of such group by reason of this 
     sentence).
       ``(4) Foreign parent corporation.--For purposes of this 
     subsection, the term `foreign parent corporation' means, with 
     respect to any deductible related-party payment, the common 
     parent of the foreign controlled group of entities referred 
     to in paragraph (3)(A).
       ``(5) Regulations.--The Secretary may prescribe such 
     regulations or other guidance as are necessary or appropriate 
     to carry out the purposes of this subsection, including 
     regulations or other guidance which provide for--
       ``(A) the treatment of two or more persons as members of a 
     foreign controlled group of entities if such persons would be 
     the common parent of such group if treated as one 
     corporation, and
       ``(B) the treatment of any member of a foreign controlled 
     group of entities as the common parent of such group if such 
     treatment

[[Page 14698]]

     is appropriate taking into account the economic relationships 
     among such entities.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to payments made after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act.

     SEC. 302. TIME FOR PAYMENT OF CORPORATE ESTIMATED TAXES.

       The percentage under paragraph (2) of section 561 of the 
     Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act in effect on the 
     date of the enactment of this Act is increased by 3 
     percentage points.

                      TITLE IV--BUDGETARY EFFECTS

     SEC. 401. COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTORY PAY-AS-YOU-GO ACT OF 
                   2010.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Nadler of 
the Judiciary Committee and Mr. Crowley of the Ways and Means Committee 
each control 6\1/2\ minutes of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act of 2010. This important legislation was reported 
by the Energy and Commerce Committee with bipartisan support on May 25 
by a vote of 33-12. I would like to take a moment to thank the bill's 
sponsors, Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler, as well as 
my colleagues from New York on the committee, Eliot Engel and Anthony 
Weiner, for their tireless work on behalf of this legislation.
  Beyond the immediate loss of life on September 11, today thousands of 
people are suffering debilitating illnesses from its aftermath. H.R. 
847 would establish the World Trade Center Health Program, a program to 
screen, monitor, and treat eligible responders and survivors who are 
suffering from World Trade Center-related diseases, most commonly from 
the massive, toxic dust cloud that enveloped lower Manhattan. The bill 
also funds research to improve our understanding of the health effects 
of the exposures over time.
  Federal spending for the World Trade Center Health Program is capped 
at $3.2 billion and is fully paid for. The version before the House 
today is more than $1 billion less expensive than that reported with 
bipartisan support from the Energy and Commerce Committee. Today is an 
important step towards ensuring that the appropriate resources are 
available to take care of those who risked their lives to save others 
on September 11.
  I urge my colleagues to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Before I give my statement, I wish to yield 11 
of the 20 minutes to the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. 
Smith of Texas, at the appropriate time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman will 
control that time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, Republicans are not opposed to compensating the victims 
and the first responders of the World Trade Center attacks. We created 
a compensation fund within 11 days after the original attack back on 
September 11, 2001. The bill before us today, however, Mr. Speaker, 
creates a brand new entitlement program that could last an additional 
21 years. It creates a special compensation system for hospitals in the 
New York City area at 140 percent of Medicare rates, provides special 
protections for trial lawyers, and creates a host of special programs 
and special protections. It also does not require any kind of a 
citizenship test, Mr. Speaker, to receive a benefit. It is, in fact, 
apparently a $7.4 billion new entitlement program.
  We know there are innocent victims in New York City that still need 
treatment, and we know that there are perhaps some participants who 
have fallen through the cracks who have not received exactly the 
treatment that they need, but this bill, quite frankly, is not the 
answer.
  In the markup in the Energy and Commerce Committee, Republicans 
offered a number of amendments that would have provided treatment, 
would have monitored benefits, and would have authorized funding for 
the existing program at the level requested by the President of the 
United States, President Obama. That amendment was rejected.
  H.R. 847 caps the number of people that can be enrolled in the 
program. As I said earlier, it doesn't require those enrolled, however, 
to verify their citizenship. We also offered an amendment to verify 
citizenship. That amendment was not agreed to.
  We also offered an amendment to means-test benefits based on income 
and assets. I think the amendment was at $1 million. That amendment was 
also rejected. So under this bill, somebody making millions of dollars 
is at least technically eligible for this program. I don't think that 
is fair when we have a budget deficit of $1.5 trillion.
  We also offered an amendment in the Energy and Commerce Committee to 
pay for the program by using money that has not been spent out of an 
existing program. That amendment was also rejected as not being what 
the majority wanted.
  As I said earlier, the bill before us would reimburse hospitals in 
New York at 140 percent of Medicare. We think that is not fair to the 
rest of the country to give a special rate above Medicare rates for 
this particular program.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  And finally, last but not least, in the amended bill that was sent to 
the Rules Committee yesterday, Mr. Speaker, they have changed the 
spending profile. Under the bill before us this evening, the program, 
while it is a guaranteed entitlement, funding would be cut by two-
thirds in 2019 and eliminated altogether in 2020. That is simply a 
budget gimmick and is patently unfair to the people, if it were to pass 
and become law, that would be depending on the program.
  For those reasons, Mr. Speaker, we would ask for a ``no'' vote on the 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel), one of the champions of this legislation.
  Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend from New Jersey for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, I was never more proud to be a 
New Yorker. Many of my constituents rushed in to help, and within days 
of the attack over 40,000 responders from across the Nation descended 
upon Ground Zero to do anything possible to help with the rescue, 
recovery, and cleanup.
  Sadly, many of my constituents were killed in the attacks on the 
World Trade Center. The people that rushed in to help their fellow 
human beings didn't put themselves first, they selflessly helped 
others. And the question is, should we now penalize these people who 
risked their lives?
  Within minutes of the planes hitting the World Trade Center, New 
York's first responders mobilized to save those who were trapped or 
hurt. They thought the site was safe to work at and the air was safe to 
breathe. They

[[Page 14699]]

never questioned their own safety when they ran in to help others 
because they put others in need ahead of themselves. And you know what? 
The statements that were given about the air being safe to breathe were 
false. Many became sick, and the illnesses from exposure to the toxins 
have developed to become severe and debilitating, and for some, deadly. 
These heroes deserve more.
  New York was attacked because it is a symbol of our country. New York 
was attacked because the terrorists wanted to make a statement. The 
responsibility to help these sick first responders is not just a New 
York problem, it's an American problem, and we all have a 
responsibility to help those people no matter where we may live.
  And let me say this to our Republican colleagues, please don't vote 
down the bill because it is on the suspension calendar or for any other 
excuse you may give. Whatever excuse you may give for voting ``no'' on 
this bill, the bottom line is that a ``no'' vote is a vote to turn your 
back on the first responders.
  Please vote ``yes'' on the bill.

                              {time}  2020

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished 
ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Shimkus).
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, our committee can do great work when we 
work together. This is not one of our finest times--a new mandatory 
entitlement program at $7.2 billion. There is $130 million in the fund 
right now. The President asked for $150 million. This is, on average, 
$700 million a year. It is mandatory. We don't do this for our 
veterans, and we don't do this for our military. This is a mandatory 
program.
  What this is is politics. What this is is enfranchising a whole bunch 
of New York City hospitals which will get paid 140 percent of Medicare 
rates when we are cutting hospital rates in the new health care law 
under part A. We can do this, and we can do this in a better manner 
than what we are doing here.
  It is on the suspension calendar. Your leadership put it on the 
suspension calendar. Do you know why? Because they can't pass it under 
regular order. It is your leadership that put you in this position, not 
House Republicans, and I am embarrassed about this tonight.


                announcement by the speaker pro tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members will be reminded to direct their 
remarks to the Chair, and not to others in the second person.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Ackerman).
  Mr. ACKERMAN. So you are for the bill, but you won't vote for it. 
Nonsense.
  Nine years ago, your country was attacked, and you're here quibbling 
about politics. You're here talking about permanent entitlements. Oh, 
how easy it is to come down here to this floor. I have seen it done 
time after time, Mr. Speaker--people proving how patriotic they are, 
determined to fight against the terrorists, to defend America, leave no 
soldier behind.
  Well, where I come from, we are leaving soldiers behind. We have 
thousands of people, besides the ones who died, who are on the 
battlefield in our hospitals--who are dying every day, who are reaching 
out and gasping for the last breaths that they have.
  You call that an entitlement.
  I don't question your patriotism. I don't question your nationalism. 
I don't question your strategy or your tactics to take petty political 
advantage of this terrible situation. Sure, you're patriots. Sure, you 
have great oratory, but I have one question: Where is your decency?


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members will kindly address their remarks to 
the Chair.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
distinguished ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).
  Mr. CAMP. Thank you for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the tragic events of 9/11 will never be forgotten nor 
will we ever forget the heroic actions of the brave men and women who, 
without regard to their own well-being, rushed in to aid, rescue, and 
recover their fellow Americans. Theirs were acts of compassion and 
patriotism that would be repeated in the days and months that followed.
  Today, many of those who were at and around the World Trade Center, 
the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in the aftermath of the 
terrorist attacks are still struggling physically and mentally.
  While I have great sympathy for the intent of this legislation in 
providing assistance to those Americans, the legislation has been 
paired with a fundamentally flawed and job-destroying tax increase. 
Therefore, I will vote against it. To pay for this new health care 
entitlement, the majority has opted for a tax increase that has no 
chance of becoming law and with good reason. It taxes American jobs. It 
is in clear violation of our international obligations.
  While the provision in question closely tracks legislation that has 
passed the House on a partisan basis, the Senate has repeatedly 
rejected it. Even the Obama administration has raised objections to the 
way this provision violates our carefully negotiated tax treaties. 
There is never a good time to raise taxes on employers and American 
workers, but given the continued weakness in the economy, now may be 
the worst time. Data from the Department of Labor confirms that:
  Forty-seven States have lost jobs since the Democrats' stimulus 
passed;
  Over 2 million jobs have been eliminated; and
  Unemployment remains unacceptably high--over 13 percent in my home 
State of Michigan.
  Mr. Speaker, the tax hike in this legislation is unacceptable. The 
hardships suffered by our first responders do not change that basic 
fact. I urge my colleagues to, again, reject these tax hikes and to 
vote ``no'' on the legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains 
on our side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Jersey has 3\1/2\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Texas has 3 minutes remaining.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the other 
champion of this bill, a member of our committee, the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Weiner).
  Mr. WEINER. I thank the chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleagues who are talking about the 
pay-for and the tax and the fine print that this is a relatively simple 
matter. This is a noncontroversial bill. If you believe that we owe a 
debt to the people who have served our country, this is your moment to 
repay it.
  You know, you talk as if you're giving them some kind of a benefit. 
What benefit has occurred for the people who went down on September 11, 
who helped pull their friends and neighbors out of the rubble and who 
now bounce their grandkids on their knees with a stew of toxic dust in 
their lungs? What benefit has occurred for them?
  You are repaying a debt on this day, a debt to these people who 
deserve it--and not just on September 11 when we all came together and 
said that we were never going to forget that day. We formed a fund like 
this one and said, You know what? If you died that day, you died a 
hero. Well, my colleagues, there are people who are dying at this 
moment. Are they any less the heroes? Are they less deserving?
  Now, there was one word I did hear used which was appropriate--that 
we are creating an entitlement. That's right. These people are 
entitled. They are entitled to our care. They are entitled to our 
indebtedness. They are entitled to what we are doing in this bill. The 
difference with this entitlement and others is that there are no more 
people. In fact, there are fewer and fewer every single day because 
they are dying. They are dying because they were heroes on behalf of 
this country.
  This is the moment for an up-or-down vote. If you put your card in 
and press the ``no'' button, you are against health care for 9/11 
workers. If you push the green button, you are finally

[[Page 14700]]

doing 9 years later what has been long overdue. That is the plain and 
simple truth.
  Don't be the party of ``no'' today.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire as to how 
much time will be remaining, which I will control, after Mr. Stearns' 1 
minute.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas will have 
approximately 2 minutes remaining.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to a member of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Stearns).
  Mr. STEARNS. Let me say to my friends on this side of the aisle and 
to the people from New York City and from New York: Can anyone come 
down to this House floor and question this spending without being 
attacked on their character?
  Mr. Speaker, there is no strategy or tactics we've developed here. We 
are just saying it's the CBO. The CBO has scored this at $11 billion. 
They said it's a template for future types of programs. They used the 
word ``entitlement.'' It creates another mandatory program. This is not 
the Republicans talking. This is the CBO. For you to come down here and 
question anybody who questions spending in this country of taxpayers' 
money and then to disparage our character is wrong.
  It is ironic that the President has created a fiscal commission to 
look at debt spending and entitlements. Yet Congress is pushing ahead 
with yet another spending program. We can talk about this intelligently 
without your emotionalizing this issue. But Mr. Speaker, we don't need 
to create this entitlement. We should do a 5-year program with the 
standard reauthorization and appropriation process.
  Why do you object to the standard appropriation process? It is a 
proper method for fiscal discipline. If we are to pay for this 
entitlement, it should also come by reducing the waste and fraud in 
this country. We are on your side. Show us how to eliminate waste and 
fraud, and we will pay for it through that.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the 2 minutes that I have remaining 
to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), the sponsor of the 
legislation who has worked so tirelessly like I've never seen on this 
legislation and is so proud to be here tonight for its passage.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Thank you very much, Chairman Pallone, and for your 
leadership.
  This week the House approved billions in new funding for the war in 
Iraq and Afghanistan, but Congress has yet to fully address the impact 
of the event that caused the war in the first place, the 9/11 terrorist 
attack.
  Today we will vote on a bill that provides guaranteed help for the 
survivors of 9/11 and the brave first responders who rushed to Ground 
Zero to save the lives of others.
  I thank Congressmen Nadler and King, my colleagues in the New York 
delegation, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer for their dedication to the 
heroes and heroines and the survivors of 9/11.
  On 9/11, roughly 3,000 people lost their lives, but thousands and 
thousands lost their health because they rushed in to save others.
  To date, the Federal Government has identified more than 20,000 
individuals who have health problems as a direct result of the attacks.
  Caring for those who are suffering is a national responsibility. 
Every single State, 428 of the 435 congressional districts have someone 
enrolled in the Federal World Trade Center Health Registry because they 
were near Ground Zero or worked at Ground Zero.
  The 9/11 Health and Compensation Act meets our moral responsibility 
to help those who were there to help us. It seems inconceivable to me 
that we would choose to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on wars 
in foreign lands and not spend this modest amount right here at home to 
help the warriors, the first people who were there, those who were 
there for us on 9/11 in the place where it all began. They were there 
for us; we need to be there for them.
  This is the veterans of the war of 9/11, those who saved the lives of 
others. And 9/11 was a great tragedy, but it was also a great rescue 
effort, one of the greatest in history.
  So I urge my colleagues to support the heroes, the heroines, the 
warriors right here at home, the first in the line of fire at Ground 
Zero where it all began.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield a very long 45 seconds to 
the gentleman from Buffalo, New York (Mr. Lee).
  Mr. LEE of New York. No one will ever forget 9/11, where we were that 
day. It's ingrained in our memories.
  We saw thousands of men and women rush into buildings, not caring 
about their own safety, caring about others. We've also seen other 
people come in and clean up this debris knowing that they were exposed 
to chemicals and toxins.
  I was a cosponsor of this bill and believed in this bill. The problem 
is, it's where Washington gets it wrong. The pay-for for this bill is 
in job-killing taxes.
  There were opportunities to solve this problem in a bipartisan way. 
That was missed. And it's an unfortunate situation when we have people 
who are getting put in the way of politics have got in the way of 
trying to help people who were brave and honest and doing the right 
thing for New Yorkers. And it's a sad state of affairs. And, 
unfortunately, I won't be able to support this bill.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Zadroga 9/11 Compensation 
Act.
  On September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden orchestrated the deadliest 
terrorist attack in American history, killing almost 3,000 people and 
wounding thousands more. The attacks created an environmental nightmare 
as hundreds of tons of every contaminant known to man and woman came 
out onto the streets and canyons of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Into this 
toxic crowd ran firefighters and police and other first responders. 
First responders came from all 50 States to aid in the rescue and clean 
up in the subsequent days.
  The Environmental Protection Administration, the EPA, despite ample 
evidence to the contrary, kept falsely proclaiming that the air was 
safe to breathe. It wasn't. The terrorists caused environmental 
catastrophe, but the Federal Government compounded the damage by 
telling people the environment was safe when it wasn't, and now 
thousands of people are sick and in need of special care.
  We have a moral obligation to treat those who became ill, and that's 
what this bill is all about. For 8 years, Representative Maloney and I, 
supported on a bipartisan basis by the New York delegation and others, 
have worked to bring this bill to the floor. Now it's finally time to 
pass it.
  Time and again, as we moved the bill through the legislative process, 
we have adjusted it, reduced its size and scope, limited its cost and 
made concessions to broaden the coalition and lower the cost. We worked 
with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to reopen the 
Victims Compensation Fund in a responsible way in order to protect 
contractors from liability so they would not find they sacrificed their 
businesses to serve their country. We even agreed to cap attorneys' 
fees.
  I know some Members are concerned about the cost of providing this 
assistance. Let me emphasize, this bill is fiscally responsible and 
balances the needs of our 9/11 heroes with fiscal constraints. It is 
completely paid for. We have achieved this by closing a tax loophole 
which allows foreign companies to evade U.S. taxes.
  Second, we have capped the funding level, capped the number of people 
who can participate, and capped the number of years the program can 
continue. Just within the past month we have brought the cost of the 
bill down an additional $3 billion.
  Now, let me appeal to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I 
understand that some of you may have a problem with the offset, even 
though it is not aimed at U.S. companies and is

[[Page 14701]]

simply designed to improve withholding of taxes that are legally due. I 
understand that.
  But I have to ask you this: just consider for a moment what we are 
talking about. Balance that tax break against the needs of our 9/11 
heroes, needs that are so great, so raw and so obvious, and let our 
moral obligation to the heroes of 9/11, our obligation, as Lincoln 
said, ``to care for him who shall have borne the battle'' prevail. Let 
us do the honorable thing and vote for this bill.
  To me, the choice is simple. I will be voting for the firefighters, 
for the police, for the first responders, for the survivors of the 
attacks. I urge every Member of the House to do the same.
  And I want to thank Congresswoman Maloney, the New York delegation, 
the Speaker, the majority leader, the chairmen of the various 
committees, Frank Pallone, and all the organizations like the 
International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Association of 
Police Organizations for supporting this vital bill.
  Do the right thing. Do the moral thing. Do the only moral thing. Vote 
for this bill.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from The 
Woodlands, Texas (Mr. Brady).
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate and admire the fierce 
tenacity of Chairwoman Maloney as she fights for her constituents in 
New York, but I have a real problem with the way the bill is paid for.
  Looking at Texas Task Force 1 standing at Ground Zero, going through 
that rubble and their heroism, themselves, they went there to save 
survivors, not to raise taxes. And that's what this bill does. It kills 
American jobs. It raises taxes on companies that invest in America, 
that build American plants, that hire American workers, buy American 
equipment, pay American taxes. It punishes those companies that create 
U.S. jobs $7 billion.
  Why would we use 9/11 as an excuse to harm American jobs? It makes no 
sense at all.
  We can do better than this. We have to do better than this. This tax 
increase is absolutely inappropriate, and I urge its defeat.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New 
York (Mrs. Lowey).
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, more than 70,000 Americans from every State 
descended upon Ground Zero to recover and rebuild after 9/11. They ran 
into burning buildings, they rescued trapped workers, they sorted 
through destruction.
  And just as we provide medical care for our troops, we must care for 
the 13,000 who are now sick as a result of their heroic actions in a 
toxic environment. They disregarded their personal safety for our 
country. Surely this Congress will not disregard their dire health 
needs to protect foreign tax shelters.
  Nearly all of us represent a responder and almost 9 years later have 
a responsibility to do what is right. Vote for this bill.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Republicans support helping the 
first responders and the victims of the World Trade Center attack. We 
support it at the President's request. We support it as an authorized 
program. We support it at paying existing Medicare rates. And, finally, 
we support it without raising taxes on the rest of the American people. 
This bill doesn't do that, so we would urge a ``no'' vote on this bill, 
and then perhaps we can work together on a bipartisan basis to do 
something that everybody in this Chamber can support.
  Please vote ``no'' on this bill, and then let's work together to do 
it the right way.

                              {time}  2040

  Mr. NADLER of New York. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill presents a sensitive issue with regard to 
compensation for those who are suffering ailments as a result of 
recovery and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center site. No doubt 
there are many with legitimate claims as a result of their efforts at 
Ground Zero.
  But this legislation, as written, creates a huge $8.4 billion slush 
fund paid by taxpayers that is open to abuse, fraud, and waste. That's 
because the legislation creates an unjustifiable 21-year-long fund that 
leaves decisions on whether or not to pay claimants to the complete 
discretion of the special master. As Ken Feinberg, special master of 
the original 9/11 Fund, has stated, quote, ``No latent claims need such 
an extended date.''
  The legislation also vastly extends the geographic scope of the fund 
to cover routes of debris removal. This will result in the potential 
for a huge number of additional claimants with tenuous connections 
between their medical problems and the cleanup efforts at Ground Zero. 
Additionally, the bill permits those who have settled their lawsuits to 
reopen their claims and seek additional taxpayer-funded compensation 
through the 9/11 Fund. This is contrary to both the terms of the 
original 9/11 Fund and to general legal principles regarding the 
finality of settlements.
  The original 9/11 Fund was unprecedented in its expression of a 
Nation's compassion and generosity following the deaths of innocent 
people. It was designed to settle the claims of those covered once and 
for all. It may be that the fund should be reopened to first responders 
whose injuries were not evident until after the expiration of the 
initial deadline. However, if we are going to reopen the fund, we 
should do so in a manner that is much narrower, with far less 
discretion for the special master than is provided for in H.R. 847.
  It's hard to explain spending billions of additional taxpayer dollars 
when Special Master Ken Feinberg himself has emphatically stated that 
the $1.5 billion in taxpayer money, charitable contributions, and 
insurance coverage currently available for distribution is, quote, 
``more than sufficient to pay all eligible claims, as well as lawyers' 
fees and costs.''
  Mr. Speaker, why do Democrats continue to overreach and consider the 
taxpayer to be their personal slush fund? I urge my colleagues to vote 
against this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I now have the distinct 
privilege of yielding 1 minute to the distinguished Speaker of the 
House.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I 
thank him for giving us the opportunity to vote this evening on the 
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. I thank you and 
Congresswoman Maloney for your leadership on this issue, as well as the 
entire New York delegation.
  Mr. Speaker, any time we enter a discussion of 9/11 we are entering 
sacred ground. It is a place where there should be no disagreement as 
to our obligation to those who helped dig out and try to help clean up 
and recover at the scene of 9/11 at Ground Zero.
  When 9/11 occurred, I don't think there would have been any question 
in anyone's mind that responding to it in this particular way was an 
emergency. It was an emergency. If there were ever an emergency in our 
country, responding to 9/11 was one. And so the objection that our 
colleagues make about paying for this, maybe we shouldn't pay for it. 
But we are. It's an emergency. It should be under emergency spending 
and investment.
  But in order to say if we don't want to add to the deficit we will 
pay for it, there is a pay-for in the legislation that is about 
eliminating opportunities for tax evaders to avoid taxation, using the 
benefit of that to help make the people who came to the rescue and help 
rebuild and recover whole.
  On September 11, 2001, again we enter this sacred ground, America 
stood in shock at the tragedy that unfolded at Ground Zero. In the days 
that followed, we stood inspired by the thousands of firefighters, 
rescue workers, first responders, medical personnel, and construction 
workers who traveled to the scene of the attack to help New Yorkers 
clean up and recover. Many spent

[[Page 14702]]

days, weeks, or months doing the hard work our government asked them to 
do in the recovery effort.
  Bound together by tragedy, their acts made them heroes. Their 
commitment reflected our unity as a people and a Nation. Their courage 
gave us hope that we would emerge from these dark days stronger and 
more resilient than ever. The whole country watched, the whole world 
watched, frustrated in our own inability to be at the scene and to be 
helpful, grateful to those who were so brave, so courageous to make 
that sacrifice, in a place that was uncertain in terms of its health 
aspects.
  Today we must act to offer those who were so courageous the 
assistance they earned through their bravery and their sacrifice. Again 
I thank Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Congressman Jerry Nadler, and 
the entire New York delegation for their work to bring this legislation 
to the floor. The American people are looking to us to do the right 
thing for the men and women who answered the call of duty and continue 
to suffer from ill health effects on their service.
  It is my understanding that the people affected by this live in 433 
of the 435 congressional districts. Because people not only rushed in 
from New York and surrounding areas, they came and brought their 
expertise and their help from all over the country. And therefore, the 
consequences of their bravery are felt all over the country. And the 
impact on their health is an important part of the challenge that they 
face and that we owe them for.
  This legislation fulfills our obligation to those Americans, helping 
those who jeopardized their health to rescue others secure necessary 
medical treatment, especially for the unique exposures suffered at 
Ground Zero, and ensuring survivors and victims' families can obtain 
compensation for their tragic losses through a reopened 9/11 Victim 
Compensation Fund.
  My colleagues, you all remember that following 9/11 there was a 
compensation fund established for the families of those who lost their 
lives. Well, many of these people are losing their lives. They 
certainly have lost their health. And we owe them. This is not a time 
for any partisanship. This legislation is the least we can do to offer 
our gratitude and support to those heroes, those individuals who never 
asked for any recognition or accolades, who simply want the opportunity 
to live out their lives with health and happiness.
  Americans will have a hard time understanding how any leader in 
Congress could oppose this critical assistance. Let's find a way to 
help these people, not let's look for ways not to. We must uphold our 
pledge to help every one of them. We must not desert them. We must join 
together as Democrats and Republicans to provide this critical 
assistance.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``aye'' on the James Zadroga 9/11 
Health and Compensation Act. I thank our colleagues again in a 
bipartisan way in the New York delegation for giving us the opportunity 
to call attention once again to the bravery and courage of so many at 
that time. Words are totally inadequate. But by our deeds we can try to 
begin to express our gratitude. We owe them that.

                              {time}  2050

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. King), who is also the ranking member of the 
Homeland Security Committee.
  Mr. KING of New York. I thank my from friend from Texas for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise as an original co-sponsor and in support of H.R. 
847. I have seen too many police officers, firefighters, and 
construction workers who responded to 9/11 who have pulverized glass in 
their lungs and toxins in their bloodstream and are dying one by one.
  But what we are doing tonight is a cruel hoax and a charade. Everyone 
knows that this bill will not get the two-thirds majority required on 
the suspension calendar. Everyone also knows that this bill would pass 
with a clear majority if the Democrat leadership would allow it to come 
to the floor under the regular procedures of the House.
  The reason H.R. 847 is not being brought up under regular order is 
because the majority party is petrified of having its members face a 
potential vote on illegal immigration. You can blame it on the 
Republicans--and I've been strongly critical on the Republican position 
on this issue--but the reality is you could pass this bill if you 
wanted to. You are in control. You have the power. You have the 
responsibility. This bill should be more important than a campaign 
talking point. You could have passed it at any time during the past 
3\1/2\ years, but you want political cover. Thank God for our country 
that the first responders of 9/11 didn't look for cover before they did 
what they had to do and lived up to their oath.
  As Mayor Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, said just today about 
the procedure we are following tonight, ``It's an outrage. A majority 
of people would vote for this bill but they know full well they will 
not get 66 percent. They know that. So this is a way to avoid having to 
make a tough decision. Our people who worked down at 9/11, whose health 
has fallen apart, did what America wanted them to do. This is an 
American problem and Congress should stand up. And I know it's a tough 
vote for some people. I don't have a lot of sympathy. They should bring 
this up and vote up or down on any amendments and vote up or down on 
the bill. And go on the record. And that incidentally is what the 
leadership should force.'' That was Mayor Bloomberg this afternoon.
  They say they want Republican support, yet they never consulted even 
one Republican before they made the corporate tax increase as the pay-
for. They say they want Republican support before they pass this bill, 
but they never applied that standard when they rammed through the 
stimulus, health care, cap-and-trade, or financial regulatory reform. 
No, you only apply it to cops and firefighters and construction 
workers.
  What a sad and pathetic double standard. These heroes deserve better 
than they are receiving here tonight.
  No matter what happens on this vote, I will continue to do all I can 
to pass this bill as soon as possible in the future.
  Let me say, I look forward to continue working with Carolyn Maloney, 
who has always been honest, open, and direct.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a sad moment for this body.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).
  Mr. WEINER. It takes great courage to wait until all Members have 
already spoken and then stand up and wrap your arms around procedure. 
We see it in the United States Senate every single day when Members 
say, We want amendments. We want debate. We want amendments, but we're 
still a ``no.'' And then we stand up and say, Oh, if only we had a 
different process, we'd vote ``yes.''
  You vote ``yes'' if you believe yes. You vote in favor of something 
if you believe it's the right thing. If you believe it's the wrong 
thing, you vote ``no.''
  Mr. KING. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. WEINER. I will not yield.
  The gentleman gets up and yells like he does to intimidate people 
into believing he's right. The gentleman is wrong. The gentleman is 
providing cover for his colleagues rather than doing the right thing.
  It's Republicans wrapping their arms around Republicans rather than 
doing the right thing on behalf of the heroes. It is a shame; a shame.
  If you believe this is a bad idea to provide health care, then vote 
``no.'' But don't give me the cowardly view that, Oh, if it was a 
different procedure.
  I will not stand here and listen to my colleague say, Oh, if only I 
had a different procedure that allows us to stall, stall, stall and 
then vote ``no.'' Instead of standing up and defending your colleagues 
and voting ``no'' on this humane bill, you should urge them to vote 
``yes,'' something the gentleman has not done.

[[Page 14703]]


  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, two questions: One, I would like to 
know how much time the last speaker used; and I would like to know how 
much time remains on each side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York consumed 1 
minute.
  The gentleman from Texas has 6 minutes. The gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Nadler) has 1\1/2\ minutes. The gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Crowley) has 6\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), who happens to be the vice ranking 
member of the Judiciary Committee. And I hope the Speaker will use the 
same timepiece in judging Mr. Goodlatte's time as he did in judging the 
gentleman from New York's time.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, everyone here is concerned about helping 
people who are suffering, including New York firefighters and policemen 
and emergency rescue workers and others affected by this, but I want to 
point out what Ken Feinberg, the special master of the September 11th 
Victim Compensation Fund said in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post 
entitled, ``9/11 fund. Once was enough.''
  He said, ``Despite its success, the fund has not set a precedent. 
Congress has not authorized similar compensation for the thousands of 
victims of Hurricane Katrina, for those injured by other natural 
disasters, or for the families of those killed in such tragedies. Nor 
has Congress exhibited such generosity toward U.S. soldiers wounded or 
the families of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  ``The same is true of victims of terrorist attacks that took place 
before September 11, 2001. The Navy personnel who died in the suicide 
attack on the USS Cole and the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing 
received no such public compensation. Even the victims of the first 
terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 were denied.''
  Feinberg said, ``Bad things happen to good people every day; Congress 
does not come to their financial rescue with generous, tax-free checks. 
In our free society, based on notions of limited government and equal 
protection of the laws, we simply do not expect the government to step 
in whenever misfortune strikes.''
  When firefighters all across this country enter burning buildings, 
when rescue workers clean up toxic spills, people are injured, people 
are killed all the time. We do not have compensation funds for them. We 
have normal procedures, normal processes through which people receive 
assistance. Even the most recent compensation funds for the gulf oil 
spill and for the victims of the shooting at Virginia Tech were 
privately funded compensation funds. This is not the correct way to 
proceed.
  And this fund, in particular, is bloated. It includes funding for 
more than 20 years, until 2031. It includes far more money than Ken 
Feinberg said was necessary.
  I urge my colleagues to not support this approach to solving this 
problem.

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 1\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, over 13,000 responders are sick 
and receiving treatment today. Nearly 53,000 are enrolled in medical 
monitoring; 71,000 are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health 
Registry.
  We have created Centers of Excellence across the country as part of 
this program so that people who were at the World Trade Center and have 
gotten sick can go to someplace with the expertise and a diagnosis 
without coming to New York or New Jersey. All of this is dependent on 
its continuation on passing this bill.
  Yes, we can do it through continued appropriations. We have had too 
many times where the hospitals had to send out notices to the people 
being treated that your treatment comes to an end June 30 because the 
appropriation hasn't come through. We cannot leave this to the 
vicissitudes of annual appropriations.
  On the Victim Compensation Fund, this House, indeed this Congress, 
passed it almost unanimously a week or two after 9/11. Unfortunately, 
people who should have been compensated by that fund could not be 
because their sicknesses did not become evident till the fund closed. 
That's why Ken Feinberg, testifying before the Judiciary Committee, 
urged us to reopen the fund, which is one half of this bill.
  This bill is necessary so that people in the future will know that 
you go and help people in a time of emergency. This is not a New York 
bill.
  This was an attack on the United States and is a special moral 
urgency because many of the people wouldn't be sick today if the 
Federal Government, in the person of the EPA, had not lied, had not 
told them the air was safe to breathe when we knew perfectly well that 
it wasn't safe to breathe.
  I remember telling people don't go back to school, don't go to work 
there. Don't go back to work in the Federal office building because the 
air was not safe to breathe. But the EPA was saying go to work. People 
went to work. They are sick. We owe them this bill. We owe them their 
health. We owe them treatment if we are going to get support in the 
future when we have another emergency.
  I urge the passage of this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I understand that we have 4 minutes 
left on this side. I would like to inquire again how much time remains 
on the other side, including both of the gentlemen from New York, Mr. 
Nadler and Mr. Crowley.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Mr. Nadler's time has expired. Mr. Crowley 
has 6\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I will reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, who has the right to close?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  With that, I will yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York 
representing Staten Island, Mr. McMahon, one of the hardest hit areas 
in terms of victims of 9/11 as well as where much of the debris was 
brought to the landfill in Staten Island.
  Mr. McMAHON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to tell the human side of this 
story, to tell the story of Lieutenant Martin Fullam from my district. 
Five weeks or so ago I got on a train in New Jersey to come down to 
work and Martin was there with his wife. They were coming down because 
there was going to be a meeting and a hearing over on the Senate side, 
and they wanted to be there.
  You see, Martin was a 30-year veteran of the New York City Fire 
Department, and right after 9/11 he went and he work on the pile; and 
like so many others, he became sick, one of the first to be diagnosed 
with World Trade Center disease. He had to have a lung replaced or 
otherwise he would have died.
  And when I asked him what does he think about, as he kind of fought 
for his breath sitting in that train station, he said the only thing I 
think about is making sure that my medical bills are paid so my family 
doesn't have to worry about it. That's all we are asking.
  So I say to you that if this is an entitlement, you should have your 
mouth washed out with soap because you lie, Mr. Speaker. And if I say 
to you that you think this is some sort of tax gimmick and you want to 
protect offshore corporations and because we want to close the 
loophole, then I say you should have your head examined because there 
is something wrong with you.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CROWLEY. I yield the gentleman 30 additional seconds.
  Mr. McMAHON. And if you say that you support this bill but because of 
process, because of procedure, you will not vote with us tonight, then 
I say to you, speak to your confessor, because your judgment day is 
coming. These people fought for us. They fought for America. It's time 
for you to stand up on that side and fight for them and

[[Page 14704]]

their families and give them peace of mind.
  This is not an entitlement. It is paid for, and it is limited. And 
yet you hide behind this substitute.


                Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members must address their remarks to the 
Chair and not to the colleagues in the second person.
  Mr. McMAHON. Mr. Chairman, as I said, that's what you should do on 
that chair. You should understand what this is about, human lives. 
Stand up and be counted.
  I urge my colleagues to vote tonight for the heroes of 9/11, all-
Americans.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. Lungren) who is the ranking 
member of the House Administration Committee and a senior member of the 
Judiciary Committee.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I am one of those who supported the section of the bill 
that we had in the Judiciary Committee and attempted to convince others 
on my side to support it, because I believe we ought to expand it to 
include those people who assisted and those people who found that they 
had health problems after the time originally envisioned.
  But I don't have to go to my father confessor, as someone suggested, 
to say that I cannot support this bill.
  I did not believe that it was going to have attached to it a job-
killing provision which is going to hurt jobs in my district and 
throughout California.
  I did not know we were going to have the open-ended type of program 
that was in title I.
  I fully thought that we would come to the floor with a bill that was 
bipartisan in nature and that was, in fact, what I envisioned when I 
voted for it and spoke for it on the Judiciary Committee.
  I am saddened, frankly, by having this bill presented the way it is 
today. I am not going to be here and complain about procedure. What I 
am going to do is complain about the result that's before us.
  We can and we have done better in the past when we have been 
confronted with very difficult issues on a bipartisan basis, when the 
Republicans were in charge, when the Democrats were in charge in the 
past, and we have been able to come up with legislation that got the 
support of this House.
  The unfortunate thing here is that this bill will not pass today; and 
yet we could have a bill that does, in fact, carry out all of the 
sentiments expressed on this floor today, but we are not going to have 
that chance, and I am saddened by that, not angered by that.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Tonko).
  Mr. TONKO. I thank the gentleman.
  I stand here this evening in strong support of H.R. 847. I want to 
commend my colleagues, Representatives Maloney, Nadler, Crowley and the 
entire delegation from New York in a bipartisan way for working on this 
bill.
  It is so essential. Just hours, days after the attack on America, 9/
11, I was at the time serving in the New York State Assembly. The 
Speaker of the State Assembly and a delegation of representatives from 
the House traveled to that site to show support to the workers.
  I can still recall the pain and the anguish that surrounded that 
site. I can still see the determination in the eyes of the workers. I 
can still understand the sense of character, the efforts made, the 
strength, the courage, the bravery, the resilience of those workers.
  If, in fact, we believe 9/11 is an attack on America, then we as an 
American public need to respond to the workers who showed the strength 
and the bravery to aid us in that very, very dark moment.
  So I stand in support of H.R. 847 and ask that everyone in this House 
show support to the workers. They deserve our respect, our resources, 
and let's support this measure.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have left?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York has 4 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. CROWLEY. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania 
(Mrs. Dahlkemper).
  Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act tonight. I am from Pennsylvania, northwest 
Pennsylvania, almost 450 miles away from New York City.
  During my first months in office, in 2009, I met with a constituent 
named Laura DiPasqua, the director of emergency services for the 
American Red Cross in Erie.

                              {time}  2110

  Laura was a healthy 41-year-old woman when she spent 5 weeks working 
at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11. Now she has an incurable 
cancer and two tumors. She has had numerous cancerous lesions removed 
from her mouth and her airways. She has undergone facial rebuilding 
four times as a result and can barely walk down the street due to her 
breathing problems. Her two sons say that the mother they knew died at 
Ground Zero.
  This bill is the right thing to do for Laura and all the first 
responders who came to the aid of their fellow Americans from across 
this country and are now suffering these horrible consequences.
  I urge my colleagues to stand with these brave Americans and support 
this bill.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  My friends from both sides of the aisle, many people responded on 9/
11, a lot of folks from New Jersey. They were put into a situation 
which they did not ask for, did not pray for. These brave people 
deserve to be responded to. If you forget them, if you put them aside, 
we will have done a bad, bad thing here in the Congress of the United 
States.
  I ask you, I plead with you, please recognize--two studies from two 
major hospitals in New Jersey indicate how severe that situation is. 
These people need your help, whether they were contractors, workers, 
firemen, or policemen. I ask you to respond.
  Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to be standing here to support our heroes 
from 9/11.
  While the entire nation watched with sorrow for those we lost and 
tried to heal emotionally after that day--there were only a few brave 
souls who went back to that rubble day-after-day and endured the 
physical and mental strain of clearing the remains of the towers in 
lower Manhattan.
  On that day, we gave those brave souls the ``all clear'' sign, but we 
now know that we were exposing those men and women to a poisonous dust 
that would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
  Today--more than four and a half years after the death of NYPD Det. 
James Zadroga--I am here to say that we need to pass the James Zadroga 
9/11 Health and Compensation Act right away because we are losing these 
brave souls as we speak.
  We need this bill because it will finally provide comprehensive 
health care and compensation for thousands of our ailing 9/11 heroes--
and it does so while being fully paid for by closing foreign tax 
shelters.
  This isn't just a bill for New York and New Jersey--This is a bill 
for all Americans.
  We know that people from all 50 States were in lower Manhattan on or 
after 9/11 and now are facing serious health concerns--there are 435 
congressional districts and 431 of them are represented by the names of 
constituents on the World Trade Center Health Registry.
  After 9/11, we all said we would be there for these brave first 
responders--but today if we vote against this bill we are asking those 
same brave individuals to come to Washington, year after year to fight 
for their health benefits--do we expect them to come here ten years 
from now?
  By then, it may be too late for many of these men and women who 
responded to their Nation's call of duty.
  I urge all my colleagues to support the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and 
Compensation Act.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to my friend from Long 
Island, Mr. Israel.

[[Page 14705]]


  Mr. ISRAEL. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier today on this bill. I just want to make 
one final point.
  The American people watching this debate are hearing finger pointing 
and blame laying, and you know what? All the finger pointing and all 
the blame laying isn't going to help a single 9/11 responder with his 
or her health care.
  It is very simple: If you believe that these heroes deserve to be 
monitored for their medical conditions and deserve health care, vote 
``yes''; if you don't believe that, vote ``no.'' But let's stop the 
partisan bickering and the posturing and get on to the business at 
hand, which is helping these people.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 2\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents an 
irresponsible overreach and does not contain the necessary protections 
to safeguard taxpayer dollars from abuse, waste, and fraud.
  Ken Feinberg, the special master of the original 9/11 fund, has 
stated that if the fund is reenacted, it should be for a window of 5 
years, not 21, and that it should be done with ``the understanding that 
there would be no changes in the rules and regulations governing the 
original fund, and that the new law would simply be a one-line 
reaffirmation of the original 9/11 fund.'' Unfortunately, the majority 
did not listen to Mr. Feinberg's sound advice. Instead, we are 
considering a bill that creates a fund with an unnecessary 21-year-long 
duration that contains special protections for trial attorneys, extends 
greatly the original fund's eligibility and criteria, and does not 
include the procedural protections necessary to safeguard the fund from 
abuse, waste, and fraud.
  Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to say I think this is another example of the 
Democrats' insatiable appetite for the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 2 minutes.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, this evening I rise not only as a Member of 
Congress, not only as a native New Yorker, and not only as the son of a 
New York City police officer. Today, I also rise as the cousin of 
Battalion Chief John Moran and in strong support of the James Zadroga 
9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
  I want to thank my colleagues from New York, particularly Carolyn 
Maloney and Jerry Nadler, who have done their utmost to shepherd this 
bill through our side of the aisle.
  My cousin, along with almost 3,000 others, died on September 11, 
2001. His last known words to the driver of his truck with the New York 
City Fire Department--at John's request he was dropped off at 2 World 
Trade Center and he said, ``Let me off here, I'm going to try to make a 
difference.''
  I rarely talk about the death of my cousin. The loss of him and other 
close friends who were killed that day is a personal matter. But today 
I need to share John's story because he and thousands of others who 
perished that day would want to know that the survivors of 9/11 will 
also never be forgotten.
  I have joined in the efforts to pay tribute to all those who died for 
our Nation and all those who served our Nation after the attacks. 
Thousands of eloquent speeches have been delivered, medals of valor 
have been issued, but the ultimate tribute has yet to be provided to 
the survivors who served our Nation on that fateful day, and in the 
weeks and the months--and, yes, the years--that have followed. Almost 9 
years after the September 11 attacks, those who dug through rubble, 
through plastics, through toxins, through human remains continue to 
await access to much-needed health services. And those who were told, 
go home, return to life as usual, as normal, are still waiting for that 
much-needed care. These are the very people who our government, our 
Federal Government, urged to go back to Ground Zero, back to Battery 
Park, back to the Financial Service District because the air was safe. 
And they did return to keep digging, keep searching, and keep working, 
but the government was wrong; the air wasn't safe, and now thousands 
are sick and dying.
  Today we have a chance to finally fulfill the commitment to the 9/11 
heroes. In the words of my cousin, my colleagues, today we have a 
chance ``to make a difference.'' Vote for this bill.
  This choice is simple: Either vote to protect foreign corporations 
who are avoiding U.S. taxes or vote to protect those who stood to 
protect our Nation on 9/11 and thereafter.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 847, the James 
Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. This legislation will 
provide care for the thousands of 9/11 responders and others who are 
sick because of Ground Zero toxins.
  Within hours of the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 
11, 2001, fire fighters, police officers and EMTs, construction 
workers, and volunteers from every state in the Union labored together 
without regard for their own health or safety.
  As they set about searching for survivors and then continued the task 
of clean up, they were told the air was safe to breathe.
  Unfortunately, we know better today.
  The cloud they worked in was a poisonous cocktail of thousands of 
tons of coarse and fine particulate matter, pulverized cement and 
glass, asbestos, lead, and other toxic pollutants.
  Now, almost nine years later, we are seeing the potentially deadly 
effects of those toxins. Thousands of responders and people from the 
community surrounding Ground Zero are currently sick and receiving 
treatment. Tens of thousands are undergoing medical monitoring, and 
many more are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry.
  H.R. 847 helps the World Trade Center responders and members of the 
community who were exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero by providing 
medical monitoring and treatment. I strongly support these provisions.
  This legislation also provides compensation for those who suffered 
economic loss. It reopens the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund 
and provides liability protection to the World Trade Center 
contractors.
  Without the Victims Compensation Fund, those who need and deserve 
compensation have no alternative to the current litigation system. So, 
it's no surprise that some 11,000 workers are suing the World Trade 
Center contractors and the City of New York because of their illnesses.
  The contractors, now subject to suit and potential financial loss, 
came in to help our nation in our time of need. They were told by the 
government that their liability would be taken care of and we need to 
make good on that promise.
  To that end, H.R. 847 provides liability protection to the World 
Trade Center contractors. As with the original Victims Compensation 
Fund, people can either participate in the Victims Compensation Fund or 
litigate, but they cannot do both.
  The solution offered in H.R. 847 is neither easy nor inexpensive. We 
must, however, take care of the people who took care of us following 9/
11. If we don't, not only will we have failed in our moral obligation 
to our nation's responders and volunteers, we risk the possibility that 
others will not answer the call when we need them in the future.
  I wish to thank Speaker Pelosi, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Nadler, Chairman 
Rangel, and Mr. Peter King for their steadfast commitment to help.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the strongest possible 
support of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, H.R. 847.
  Mr. Speaker, every September, we come to the floor of the House of 
Representatives to pay homage to the lives lost on the 11th of 
September in 2001, to recognize that each anniversary is a time of 
solemn commemoration, to extend condolences to the friends, families 
and loved ones of the innocent victims of the terrorists. Every 
September, we come here and reflect about that day in 2001 and to say 
none of us will ever forget what happened. And Mr. Speaker, those words 
are all well and good, those words are all spoken with sincerity and 
those words are all important. However, today this House has a chance 
to do something more, something different than just, ``expressing the 
sense of the House,'' something tangible, something that will help the 
living victims of 9/11.
  Mr. Speaker, when the towers were falling, there were men and women 
who rushed to

[[Page 14706]]

those towers to help when all human instinct would be to run away. 
Later, workers volunteered and were hired to work on the ``pile'' at 
Ground Zero at the World Trade Center. First responders, workers, 
visitors and residents at Ground Zero were exposed to a mixture of 
asbestos, dioxin, jet fuel and other toxins when they were told by the 
federal government that it was safe. Unfortunately, the previous 
Administration declared the site ``safe,'' puttered around with 
piecemeal and short-term efforts, and either by incompetence or design, 
utterly failed to address the now-acknowledged and long-term effects of 
exposure to the ``pile'' at Ground Zero. Nine years of waiting for a 
comprehensive plan of action is long enough; Congress must act now to 
provide for the lasting care of the people who rushed to Ground Zero to 
help others, as well as the thousands who worked on the ``pile'' in the 
aftermath to rebuild the site, and have gotten sick from it. We owe the 
heroes of 9/11 the medical care and compensation they deserve. H.R. 
847, the 
9/11 Health and Compensation Act, would finally establish a permanent 
federal program to monitor and treat the first responders, workers, and 
residents who were exposed to the harmful contaminants caused by the 
terrorist attacks of 9/11.
  Mr. Speaker, sadly, there are opponents to this bill. There are 
opponents to this bill that object to the cost. They say we can't 
afford it, that we can't afford to add another program with mandatory 
spending, that these 9/11 victims should come back to Congress every 
fiscal year for funding. Well, this bill is paid for with an offset. 
Then there are other opponents who object to the offset used to pay for 
the bill--an offset which has passed this House three separate times. 
Apparently, those opponents believe that foreign corporations making 
profits in the United States should be able to evade taxes. Then there 
are yet even other opponents to this bill who believe this isn't a 
national issue, that it's a local, New York City issue. To those 
opponents: 9/11 wasn't an attack on New York City; it was an attack 
upon the entire United States. The brave men and women in uniform who 
risk their lives every day in Afghanistan and elsewhere aren't 
defending just New York City, they're defending America.
  Personally, I find it outrageous that we have to even offset the 
costs of this bill at all. For my entire time here in Congress, I have 
strongly supported emergency spending for all Americans who are victims 
of natural and man-made disasters. When there was emergency spending 
needed for the victims of floods and tornadoes in the Midwest, or 
hurricanes on the Gulf Cost, or forest fires out West, I supported that 
spending. In the future, it is likely we will consider emergency 
spending for some new disaster or attack, whether it will be helping 
our citizens affected by the oil spill or something else. I strongly 
believe the victims of 9/11 are owed the same consideration by the 
Members of this House.
  Responders came to Ground Zero in the thousands from all around the 
country, from almost every Congressional District. Over 13,000 
responders to Ground Zero are sick now and already are receiving 
medical treatment. Another 53,000 responders are currently being 
medically monitored and 71,000 individuals are enrolled in the World 
Trade Center Registry, meaning there were exposed to toxins at some 
point. In the coming years, these numbers will only increase as 
symptoms and conditions related to exposure to Ground Zero begin to 
manifest themselves in the victims. This measure would monitor and 
provide treatment to responders to Ground Zero and build on the 
existing monitoring and treatment programs. There's also an economic 
component to this bill. Victims would be able to be compensated for 
their economic losses and contractors would receive liability 
protection. We must pass this bill not only because it's the right 
thing to do for those people who are sick, but for the next generation 
of responders who will have to think twice about volunteering and 
working at a the site of a terrorist attack.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act so that all the victims of 9/11 will receive the 
medical care and help they need and deserve.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
speak in support of H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and 
Compensation Act.
  I would like to thank Congresswoman Maloney from New York for 
introducing this important legislative measure.
  According to a 2008 New York City Department of Health report, as 
much as three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both 
psychological and new respiratory problems remain elevated among those 
persons enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry.
  The news is even more disturbing when that figure is quantified as 
nearly 72,000 Americans that are currently registered.
  Three percent of enrollees reported development of new asthma cases; 
16 percent reported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and 8 
percent had severe psychological distress.
  And, among the whole population of registrants, minorities, persons 
of low-income, and women experienced higher rates of mental and 
physical problems.
  H.R. 847 would amend Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act to 
provide: medical monitoring as well as treatment benefits to eligible 
emergency responders, as well as recovery and cleanup workers who 
responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 
2001.
  This bill would also provide the initial health evaluations, 
monitoring, and treatment benefits that residents and area workers who 
were directly impacted by the attacks need to address their concerns.
  Going forward, we need to empirically study the psychological and 
physiological effects of 9/11 to better understand the new medical 
conditions that have emerged.
  We owe it to those who selflessly risked their lives to save the 
lives of others.
  Presently, the enrollment of the World Trade Center Registry includes 
386 Texans who were affected and are still being affected by this 
tragedy.
  Because the impacts of 9/11 far reach beyond Ground Zero, it is 
important that we in Congress work to provide for the care of those who 
still suffer.
  I am confident that with the passage of this bill, they are one step 
closer to that goal.
  I urge my colleagues to support Health and Compensation Act for the 
medical monitoring, treatment, and scientific research for those 
affected by 9/11.
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 847, the James 
Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, ensures that we 
continue to care for and compensate the heroes and heroines of 9/11. 
These are the firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, and 
volunteers who risked their lives to help the country during one of its 
darkest periods. They deserve our help, and we are duty-bound to 
provide it to them.
  I congratulate Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Nadler, and Mr. King of New York and 
the other members of the New York delegation for their long struggle to 
bring this bill to the floor. I also thank Speaker Pelosi for her 
strong commitment to helping the heroes and heroines of
9/11.
  In the days after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress came 
together and--in a truly bipartisan effort--conceived of a system 
through which the victims of those terrible attacks could obtain 
medical treatment and just compensation for any injuries that occurred 
as a result of those attacks. As we learned in various hearings and 
markups before the Judiciary Committee, that system was a stunning 
success.
  The 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, for example, quickly compensated 
those who were injured or lost close family members in the attacks. 
Just over $7 billion was paid out in a 33-month period, with overhead 
costs of less than 3 percent, and with 97 percent of the families of 
deceased victims opting into the fund rather than pursuing tort relief 
in the courts. As Special Master Kenneth Feinberg stated in his written 
testimony before our committee earlier this year: ``this was one of the 
most efficient, streamlined and cost effective programs in American 
history.''
  Despite its incredible success, however, the job is not quite done. 
There remain thousands of people who require the protection of the VCF, 
but who--by no fault of their own--were unable to take advantage of it 
when it was available. This includes first responders, workers, and 
volunteers from around the country who rallied to help locate 
survivors, recover the deceased, and clean up debris from the fallen 
towers. These are the people that the Nation and the world watched on 
television as they dropped everything in their own lives to rush to aid 
those who needed it the most.
  They were told by their government that the air was safe to breath. 
But many are now sick and suffering because of their exposure to the 
toxic dust that covered much of lower Manhattan.
  People are sick and will continue to get sick because of their 
exposure to World Trade Center dust. We must resolve this problem, and 
that means passing H.R. 847.
  The bill would provide medical monitoring and treatment to the 
continuing victims of the 9/11 attacks. It would also reopen the 9/11 
Victims Compensation Fund to provide compensation to those victims.
  One thing is clear: the status quo is unacceptable. Worker's 
compensation has failed. Medical programs aren't covering enough 
people. And the World Trade Center Captive Insurance Fund, created by 
Congress to resolve

[[Page 14707]]

claims such as those that remain outstanding, has instead used the 
money appropriated to contest each and every one of those claims. Six 
years and $300 million in administrative and legal costs later, the 
Captive Insurance Fund has settled less than 10 claims.
  I believe this bill, while perhaps not perfect, goes a long way to 
establishing a fair and just program to care for and compensate those 
who continue to bear the deep scars from
9/11. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, which is the result of 
a great deal of work on both sides of the aisle, and is the right thing 
to do for the first responders, workers, and volunteers who heard the 
call of duty and helped our country recover from 9/11.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the men and 
women who risked their lives for the victims of 9/11.
  In the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, 
thousands of courageous men and women from around the country devoted 
themselves tirelessly to the rescue efforts. In the course of their 
work, they were exposed to numerous toxins.
  After giving so much of themselves, many of these firefighters, 
police officers, rescue workers, and innocent bystanders are currently 
suffering from serious respiratory, gastrointestinal, and mental health 
conditions. More than 70,000 individuals have enrolled in the World 
Trade Center Health Registry, signifying that they were exposed to the 
toxins. Over 13,000 responders and 4,500 survivors are sick and 
receiving treatment. Moreover, approximately 53,000 responders have 
entered into medical monitoring.
  For this reason, I support H.R. 847, the
9/11 Health and Compensation Fund.
  H.R. 847 would build on existing programs to provide long-term, 
comprehensive health care and compensation for those in need. By 
establishing the World Trade Center Health Program, this legislation 
would ensure that World Trade Center victims and survivors receive 
proper medical monitoring and treatment. It will also reopen the 9/11 
Victims Compensation Fund, which would help cover economic losses.
  The World Trade Center victims and responders have waited long 
enough. Thousands of Americans were exposed to toxins at Ground Zero, 
and they are sick and need treatment. It is time for action.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, as we approach the 9th anniversary of 
the September 11th, 2001 attacks, I rise in support of legislation that 
would help the thousands of first responders and survivors who were 
exposed to hazardous health conditions in the aftermath of the attacks.
  Congress and the Federal Government have an obligation and a 
responsibility to care for and help the responders and survivors of the 
September llth attacks. The 9/11 Health and Compensation Act would re-
open the federal health and compensation program as well as provide 
medical monitoring and treatment services for 9/11 responders and 
community members who have suffered long-term physical and mental 
health problems due to the residual dust, toxins and chemicals from the 
attacks.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is PAYGO compliant. Let us not forget 
the sacrifice and service of those brave individuals who rushed to the 
scene as well as the survivors. We cannot turn our backs on them. I 
urge my colleagues to support this much-needed bill.
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on H.R. 847--The 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act.
  There have been few events in our history as traumatic as the attacks 
our nation suffered on September 11, 2001. The lives of millions of 
Americans were changed on that day. People in New York were devastated. 
Yet the incredible response by people all over this great country 
reminded us of the generous and caring people we Americans are.
  Now many of those people who came from every state in the country 
need our help. They were willing to put their own health at risk to 
help their neighbors. We now have the opportunity to repay them for 
their courageous actions.
  H.R. 847--the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act will do just that. It 
will provide critical health monitoring and treatment and compensate 
these angels of mercy for their economic sacrifices.
  We are pleased that this bill is revenue neutral. But we could never 
place a monetary value on the bravery and service of these heroes. I 
urge my colleagues in the House to do right by these brave Americans. 
Passing this bill will be another noble act in our nation's proud 
heritage.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support the 
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and believe the House of 
Representatives should act urgently to pass this must needed piece of 
legislation.
  The United States is engaged around the world in a conflict against 
violent extremists. The first casualties of that conflict were the 
police and firefighters who responded that day, the civilians that 
volunteered in the rescue and recovery efforts, the construction 
workers who began clearing the site, and the ordinary citizens who 
lived and worked in that area. It is important that we act to take care 
of those individuals who were harmed as a result of this attack on our 
nation. They suffered that day as Americans, and it is right that we, 
as Americans, ensure they receive the care they need and deserve.
  These Americans, not only New Yorkers, but citizens of every state, 
continue to suffer from serious medical conditions as a result of the 
attacks and the dangerous air quality in the time that followed. It is 
imperative that this Congress act to protect those citizens who are 
suffering as a result of the terrorist attacks on our country.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this effort.
  Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, we all agree that those who heroically 
responded to the 9/11 terrorist attacks should get the treatment, 
compensation, and liability protection they need. The American people 
are grateful to those the ground zero workers and the emergency 
responders that worked heroically, day and night, for months in rescue, 
recovery and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center site. 
Unfortunately, the approach this bill takes to accomplish these goals 
is unreasonable and irresponsible.
  During committee hearings on reenacting the 9/11 Fund, I expressed 
the view that if the fund is reenacted, it must be done in a manner 
that properly compensates the victims while at the same time protecting 
the taxpayers.
  First, I asserted that if the Fund is reenacted it must provide 
adequate compensation to the victims without handing the keys to the 
U.S. Treasury to trial lawyers. Unfortunately, this bill does not 
contain these protections. Rather, the bill allows trial lawyers to 
request compensation from the fund for work that is not directly 
related to their clients' recovery from the fund.
  Second, I stated that if the Fund is reenacted it must include 
provisions that will protect the U.S. taxpayers. However, instead of 
protecting the taxpayers, this bill abdicates Congress' legislative 
authority to the unreviewable and virtually unbounded discretion of the 
Special Master.
  Third, I counseled that if the Fund is reenacted it should be for a 
reasonable, but limited, period of time. Once again the authors of this 
legislation did not listen to my advice; rather, they propose to keep 
the fund open for 21 years despite congressional testimony by Special 
Master Ken Feinberg that ``no latent claims need such an extended 
date.''
  Finally, I suggested that if the fund is reenacted it should be paid 
for. Apparently, the bill's authors listened to me on this count, but 
unfortunately, rather than choosing a pay-for that protects U.S. 
taxpayers, they have chosen one that will actually cost American jobs.
  We could be considering a reasonable consensus proposal to reenact 
the 9/11 Fund today. Instead, I have to urge my colleagues to oppose 
this legislation because not only does it fail to protect the 
taxpayers, but it also fails to ensure that those REAL victims that 
answered the call of duty on September 11, 2001, will actually get the 
care that they deserve. Unfortunately, we have brought a bill to the 
floor today that will cost American jobs and creates gimmicks to hide 
the bill's true cost.
  The taxpayers and those who responded to the 9/11 attacks deserve 
better.
  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

[[Page 14708]]

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 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.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 847, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 255, 
nays 159, not voting 18, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 491]

                               YEAS--255

     Ackerman
     Adler (NJ)
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boccieri
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Cao
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Childers
     Chu
     Clarke
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Critz
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Dahlkemper
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (TN)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dent
     Deutch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Driehaus
     Edwards (MD)
     Edwards (TX)
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foster
     Frank (MA)
     Frelinghuysen
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Giffords
     Gonzalez
     Gordon (TN)
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Halvorson
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Heinrich
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Himes
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilroy
     Kind
     King (NY)
     Kirk
     Kirkpatrick (AZ)
     Kissell
     Klein (FL)
     Kosmas
     Kratovil
     Kucinich
     Lance
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maffei
     Maloney
     Markey (CO)
     Markey (MA)
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McMahon
     McNerney
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Michaud
     Miller (MI)
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Minnick
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy (NY)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murphy, Tim
     Nadler (NY)
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Nye
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Perriello
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis (CO)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Ross
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schauer
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Space
     Speier
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stupak
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Taylor
     Teague
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Titus
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Welch
     Wilson (OH)
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Yarmuth
     Young (AK)

                               NAYS--159

     Aderholt
     Alexander
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bean
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Bright
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Castle
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Cooper
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Djou
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Emerson
     Fallin
     Flake
     Fleming
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Hall (TX)
     Harper
     Hastings (WA)
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hunter
     Inglis
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan (OH)
     King (IA)
     Kingston
     Kline (MN)
     Lamborn
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lee (NY)
     Lewis (CA)
     Linder
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller, Gary
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Olson
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Putnam
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (TX)
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walden
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf

                             NOT VOTING--18

     Akin
     Carney
     Clay
     Conyers
     Griffith
     Grijalva
     Guthrie
     Hoekstra
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     McCarthy (CA)
     Moran (KS)
     Radanovich
     Shadegg
     Tiahrt
     Wamp
     Watson
     Watt
     Young (FL)

                              {time}  2146

  Messrs. CAMP, BONNER, and MACK changed their vote from ``yea'' to 
``nay.''
  Messrs. BRALEY of Iowa and ALTMIRE, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. BAIRD

[[Page 14709]]

changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So (two-thirds not being in the affirmative) the motion was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

                          ____________________