9/11 Health Program Was Allowed to Lapse by Congress on September 30th
33,000 First Responders & Survivors Suffering with 9/11-Related Injury or Illness Enrolled in World Trade Center Health Program
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act, a bill to permanently extend and fully fund the 9/11 health and compensation programs, has garnered 61 Senate cosponsors, including 15 Republicans – a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate – and 237 cosponsors in the House of Representatives.
“61 Senators have done the right thing for our heroes by supporting legislation that reauthorizes and permanently extends the 9/11 health and compensation programs,” said Senator Gillibrand. “More than 14 years later, the 9/11 terror attacks are still claiming American lives, and we can’t wait any longer to extend these programs, on which thousands of first responders, survivors, and their families rely. The cancers these heroes face don’t expire and neither should their health care. Congress should not shortchange the victims of the largest terrorist attack on American soil in history. More police officers have died from 9/11-related illnesses than died on 9/11 itself. The damage from those attacks did not end on that day, and Congress has a moral obligation to help those brave first responders. Now that we have an overwhelming majority of Senators who support permanently extending the 9/11 health and compensation programs, we owe it to our heroes and their families to pass this bill.”
Last month, hundreds of first responders and advocates – including former Daily Show host Jon Stewart – lobbied Congress in support of the permanent reauthorization of the Zadroga Act. Since then, 24 Senators – 15 Democrats and nine Republicans – have joined as cosponsors of the bill: the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act. A total of 61 Senators now support this legislation.
Created in 2010, the World Trade Center Health Program provides treatment and medical care to 33,000 first responders and survivors suffering from at least one 9/11-related illness or injury. More than 72,000 first responders and survivors receive medical monitoring to screen for cancers and other diseases observed in the 9/11 population. Participants in the World Trade Center Health Program live in all 50 states, and in 433 of the 435 Congressional Districts. The program expired on September 30th, putting these critical services in jeopardy.
Another program established as a part of the Zadroga Act, the Victims Compensation Fund, will expire in October 2016. The Fund provides financial aid to responders, survivors, and families who have suffered economic losses as a result of 9/11-related injuries.
Below is a full list of the Senators cosponsoring the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act:
Sen Ayotte, Kelly [R-NH] – 9/8/2015
Sen Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] – 8/5/2015
Sen Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Blunt, Roy [R-MO] – 9/29/2015
Sen Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Boxer, Barbara [D-CA] – 9/17/2015
Sen Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] – 6/1/2015
Sen Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] – 9/28/2015
Sen Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] – 9/24/2015
Sen Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD] – 9/9/2015
Sen Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE] – 9/16/2015
Sen Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] – 4/28/2015
Sen Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] – 5/13/2015
Sen Cotton, Tom [R-AR] – 5/7/2015
Sen Daines, Steve [R-MT] – 10/19/2015
Sen Donnelly, Joe [D-IN] – 9/16/2015
Sen Durbin, Richard [D-IL] – 4/28/2015
Sen Ernst, Joni [R-IA] – 9/29/2015
Sen Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA] – 9/16/2015
Sen Franken, Al [D-MN] – 6/17/2015
Sen Graham, Lindsey [R-SC] – 9/28/2015
Sen Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] – 9/10/2015
Sen Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND] – 9/16/2015
Sen Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] – 7/15/2015
Sen Kaine, Tim [D-VA] – 9/10/2015
Sen King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] – 5/7/2015
Sen Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] – 7/21/2015
Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT] – 9/10/2015
Sen Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV] – 9/16/2015
Sen Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] – 6/24/2015
Sen McCain, John [R-AZ] – 10/26/2015
Sen McCaskill, Claire [D-MO] – 9/24/2015
Sen Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] – 9/10/2015
Sen Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD] – 7/14/2015
Sen Moran, Jerry [R-KS] – 9/28/2015
Sen Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Murphy, Christopher S. [D-CT] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Murray, Patty [D-WA] – 9/17/2015
Sen Nelson, Bill [D-FL] – 9/10/2015
Sen Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] – 9/17/2015
Sen Reed, Jack [D-RI] – 9/16/2015
Sen Reid, Harry [D-NV] – 10/28/2015
Sen Rounds, Mike [R-SD] – 10/28/2015
Sen Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Schatz, Brian [D-HI] – 6/23/2015
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI] – 9/28/2015
Sen Tester, Jon [D-MT] – 7/23/2015
Sen Toomey, Pat [R-PA] – 9/28/2015
Sen Udall, Tom [D-NM] – 9/28/2015
Sen Vitter, David [R-LA] – 9/10/2015
Sen Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] – 9/16/2015
Sen Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] – 4/14/2015 *
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] – 4/20/2015
Sen Wyden, Ron [D-OR] – 9/8/2015
