[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18999-19001]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             JAMES ZADROGA 9/11 HEALTH AND COMPENSATION ACT

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, 69 years ago tomorrow, one of the 
most deadly attacks on our Nation that we have ever seen, the horrific 
attacks on Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,000 U.S. troops and 
civilians. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said December 7 is a date 
which will live in infamy. No matter how long it may take us to 
overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their 
righteous might, will win through to absolute victory, and we did.
  In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, America succeeded not only 
militarily, we succeeded morally as well. Our Nation bonded together 
with a newfound resolve to help those who sacrificed so much for our 
Nation and to take care of our fellow citizens.
  In the months that followed the attacks, Democrats and Republicans 
knew exactly what had to be done. Congress came together, not only to 
declare war but to pass legislation that provided health care and 
compensation to each and every civilian who was injured during that 
Pearl Harbor attack--every citizen who sacrificed for America that day. 
It did not take 9 years for that to be done. Congress acted bravely and 
swiftly, without partisanship, without gridlock, with a clear moral 
compass and a clear determination that we as a nation have an 
undeniable moral obligation to help the people who were harmed during 
that attack on Pearl Harbor.
  Pearl Harbor was the most deadly attack on our Nation, the most 
deadly attack until the morning of September 11, 2001, when 3,000 
innocent people perished and tens of thousands of people came to their 
rescue. In the days that followed the 9/11 attack, America showed the 
very same resolve it had shown nearly 60 years prior, and now we have 
seen thousands of heroes and thousands of survivors sick and dying from 
the toxins released at ground zero. It is a time for us to show that 
very same resolve again.
  As President Roosevelt said: No matter how long it will take us, we 
will win through to absolute victory. We will provide the firefighters 
and police officers and the construction workers and the cleanup 
workers and the people and the children who go to school and live at 
ground zero with the health care and compensation they justly and 
rightly deserve.
  There are few things we do in Washington that are clearly a choice 
between right and wrong. There is no gray area when it comes to this 
issue. We truly have a moral and undeniable obligation to help these 
men and women. For the past week on display in the Russell rotunda we 
have shown 29 police badges that belonged to 29 members of the New York 
City police force who died since September 11 because of the diseases 
related to those toxins that were released when the towers fell. The 
30th police officer, David Mahmoud, died last month of a very rare, 
disfiguring form of cancer

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after he worked 60 hours at the site of ground zero.
  Perhaps the most disturbing fact about the deaths of these 30 police 
officers is the fact that the average age of these men and women is 46 
years old.
  The badges we displayed were not just a memorial to those we lost, 
they are a call to action for each and every one of us who call 
ourselves public servants and for those of us who are here to serve on 
behalf of this Nation. Every single Member of the Senate should visit 
that memorial today to see and be reminded of those men and women who 
have perished. Over 13,000 World Trade Center responders are sick today 
and receiving treatment; nearly 53,000 responders are enrolled in 
medical monitoring and 71,000 responders are enrolled in the World 
Trade Center Health Registry, indicating they were exposed to these 
toxins.
  These men and women are from all over this country, from every State 
in the Union. In fact, approximately 10,000 individuals came from 
outside the New York area, including every State in this country, to 
save lives and to clean up after the devastation that struck New York. 
Their illnesses range from respiratory, gastrointestinal, and mental 
health conditions caused by the inhalation of pulverized cement, glass, 
lead and asbestos and other fatal toxins that were caused by the 
destruction of those buildings on 9/11.
  The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act provides the 
proper congressional authorization and statutory structure to the 9/11 
health programs that have received $326 million through annual 
appropriations since 2003. Our bill would establish the World Trade 
Center health program within the National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health to provide permanent ongoing medical monitoring and 
treatment for related conditions to the World Trade Center responders 
and community members.
  The program administrator will establish a nationwide network of 
providers so the eligible individuals who live outside of New York can 
reasonably access monitoring and treatment benefits near where they 
live. These eligible individuals are included in the caps on the 
numbers of participants in the responder and community programs.
  I wish to emphasize one important aspect of this bill that typically 
gets overlooked. Our legislation will provide a level of accountability 
and transparency for the disbursement of funds that has not been seen 
up until this point with the current programs. It terminates all of the 
existing six billing programs that were hastily put together in the 
chaotic aftermath of September 11, and establishes one third-party 
administrator who will set reasonable rates, track expenditures, and 
enforce eligibility requirements. It will be 100 percent transparent 
and accountable.
  Further, our bill limits the health program to 10 years and caps the 
number of people who can receive treatment at approximately 109,000 and 
limits the treatment to respiratory, gastrointestinal or mental health 
diseases that have already been medically certified to have been 
associated with breathing the toxins and other hazards at ground zero.
  Under this bill, the government is the payer of last resort. 
Individual health insurance or funds from workers compensation claims 
will all pay for treatment first. The Federal Government will only 
cover those after those first two payers pay. The city of New York is 
required to contribute 10 percent matching cost shares of the community 
health program.
  The legislation will also formally reopen the September 11 Victims 
Compensation Fund to provide compensation for economic damages and loss 
for individuals who did not file or did not become ill before the 
original cutoff date of December 22, 2003. The payments will be limited 
to $4.2 billion over 10 years.
  Our bill would strictly enforce limits to attorney payments to 10 
percent of the payments from the fund, and it would provide liability 
protections for the World Trade Center contractors and the City of New 
York, limiting liability of defendants for claims previously resolved, 
currently pending or filed through December 22 of 2031.
  Last, I wish to emphasize this bill is entirely pay-go compliant. 
That means the bill is paid for. It will not add to our debt or our 
deficit. It is capped, mandatory funding that is offset completely by a 
pay-for that closes a loophole that foreign companies use to avoid 
paying their fair share of U.S. taxes, which fundamentally makes our 
companies have to play on an unlevel playing field. We want to help 
American businesses and that is what this pay-for does.
  In closing, I wish to make it crystal clear what this bill is about. 
This bill is about our first responders. This bill is about our heroes, 
and their families. This bill is about the victims who lived at ground 
zero. This bill is about the children who are currently suffering from 
asthma, the most vulnerable in our communities who could not tolerate 
these toxins in their bodies.
  I am going to tell you about three individuals whose stories are 
particularly moving. At a time when most people were running away from 
lower Manhattan, Joseph Picurro rushed to the World Trade Center site 
to volunteer his expertise as an ironworker for these rescue efforts. 
For 28 days Joe helped cut steel beams on the pile to find survivors 
and to clear debris, often sleeping on the floor of a nearby office 
building, rather than returning to his home and his family in New 
Jersey at night.
  In the years following his dedicated work at Ground Zero, Joe was 
diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a reactive airway dysfunction syndrome and 
severe acid reflux. He suffered from constant joint pain, seizures, 
blackouts, and relied on dozens of different medications.
  Unable to work for years, Joe had to fight to get his workers 
compensation for his illness. In October, Joe passed away at the age of 
43. He left behind his wife and his daughter Allison. Joe's wife Laura 
recently wrote me a note of plea. She said:

       Our financial situation is bad--I mean bad. For 6 years 
     I've had to beg for help, borrow from family and I just can't 
     do it anymore, and shouldn't have to. We need to reopen the 
     Victim Compensation Fund.

  This bill is also for people such as Frank Fraone of California. 
Frank was a division chief of the Menlo Park Fire Department in 
California. He was thousands of miles away from New York City on 9/11 
fighting wildfires. Along with thousands of other brave men and women 
who came from all across this country, Chief Fraone traveled to New 
York to aid local rescue workers at Ground Zero. He had seen his fair 
share of destruction during his career, but nothing had prepared him 
for what he saw at Ground Zero.
  He worked 16-hour days with fellow rescue workers inhaling that toxic 
dust that later left him with lower respiratory airway disease. Living 
across the country, far from New York City, Chief Fraone still feels 
the effects of working at Ground Zero, which he said limited his 
ability to respond to other disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. Chief 
Fraone has had difficulty getting health care in California for his 
ailments, and says that:

       Living out here in California, I cannot get confirmation or 
     talk face-to-face with anyone affiliated with [9/11] health 
     issues. I do not know to this date if I am going to be 
     covered for my health concerns. What happens when this health 
     issue disables me and I can no longer work or care for my 
     family?

  Our bill would meet the needs of this division chief and this man and 
this hero who came to help when he was needed.
  The last story I wish to give is that of Robert Helmke. Police 
Officer Helmke died at the age of 43 from stage IV metastatic 
colorectal cancer caused by inhaling and swallowing the toxins at 
Ground Zero. He was 43. I am 43. Robert worked numerous hours of duty 
at the World Trade Center. He ate food and unknowingly inhaled the 
toxins while he was working. At no time while he was working at the 
site was he instructed ever to wear protective gear or any kind of 
breathing apparatus, nor was he told by our government that the air was 
in any way unhealthy or bad for him.
  Stage IV metastatic colorectal cancer is a form of cancer that 
affects the

[[Page 19001]]

upper GI tract. It is very rare in someone so young. He was told that 
treatment would not cure him, that it would only help him to live a 
little longer. I want to read to you his reaction to the diagnosis in 
his own words. He said:

       Talk about crushing news! My wife and I sat in the car and 
     cried as I asked her what did I ever do to deserve this. On 
     July 11th, 2006, I had major surgery to remove two tumorous 
     parts from my small colon and have radiation on the large 
     tumor in my liver. Before my surgery, I had four chemotherapy 
     treatments and was in an emergency room three times to be 
     treated for dehydration before finally having to go on an all 
     liquid diet and intravenous feeding. I have a wife, Greta, 
     and two young children, Garrett and Amelia, who have seen my 
     health worsen since participating in the World Trade Center 
     recovery. My favorite things in life are slowly being taken 
     away from me. My work, food, helping others and caring for my 
     family.

  Officer Helmke died on July 28, 2007. These are the stories that tell 
us what this bill is about--men and women who are suffering; men and 
women who have died; men and women who have suffered so much because 
they did the right thing.
  What message are we sending here from this body, this esteemed body, 
if we cannot help those who came to our rescue, who were there to find 
survivors, who were there then to find remains, and who were there to 
do the cleanup when our government asked them to help?
  You must remember the days after 
9/11. This country would have done anything to help those who had 
suffered so much in New York and across this country. This was the most 
deadly terrorist attack in the history of America. And now 9 years 
later this body cannot come together to do what is right? This is the 
clearest example of right versus wrong that I have seen in this body in 
my 2 short years.
  We must recognize the undeniable obligation we have, a moral 
obligation to protect these men and women and their families because 
they did the right thing. It is now time for this body to do the very 
same.
  I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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