Bill that would provide up to $7.4 billion in aid for sick 9/11 responders fails in House

Bill to aid sick 9/11 responders fails in House

WASHINGTON — The House has rejected a bill that would pay up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by toxic dust from the World Trade Center.

The measure on Thursday night failed to win the needed two-thirds majority.

Members of Congress from New York and New Jersey who have pushed for such a measure for years plan to continue pressing for the bill after Congress returns from its August recess.

The legislation is named for James Zadroga, a police detective who died at age 34. His supporters say he died from respiratory disease contracted at ground zero, but New York City’s medical examiner says Zadroga’s lung condition was caused by prescription drug abuse.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill that would provide up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust was in danger of stalling in Congress on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts.

For weeks now, a judge and teams of lawyers have been urging 10,000 former ground zero workers to sign on to a court-supervised settlement that would split $713 million among people who developed respiratory problems and other illnesses after inhaling trade center ash.

The court deal shares some similarities with the aid program that the federal legislation would create, but involves far less money. Only the most seriously ill of the thousands of police officers, firefighters and construction workers suing New York City over their exposure to the dust would be eligible for a hefty payout.

But supporters of the deal have been saying the court settlement is the only realistic option for the sick, because Congress will never act.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you can wait and wait and wait for that legislation … It’s not passing,” Kenneth Feinberg, the former special master of the federal 9/11 victim compensation fund, told an audience of ground zero responders Monday in a meeting on Staten Island.

His prediction that the bill would go nowhere was echoed elsewhere Thursday, as the House prepared to vote on it.

Democratic leaders planned to bring it up for a vote using a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority for approval. One of the measure’s key supporters, U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Long Island Republican, said that would almost guarantee that the bill would fail, in part because it would block Republicans from proposing amendments.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the vote an “outrage.” He said it was clearly a tactic designed to stall the bill, which has raised concerns because of high cost, even though many members of Congress claim to support the measure.

“This is a way to avoid having to make a tough decision,” Bloomberg said, adding that the nation owes more to “the people who worked down at 9/11 whose health has fallen apart because they did what America wanted them to do.”

John Feal, a ground zero demolition worker who has lobbied extensively for the legislation, expressed disgust.

“They pulled the rug out from beneath our feet,” said Feal. “Whatever member of Congress vote against this bill, whether Republican or Democrat, should go to jail for manslaughter.”

The bill would provide up to $3.2 billion to cover the medical treatment of people sickened by trade center dust, and another $4.2 billion for a new fund that would compensate them for their suffering and lost wages.

The potential promise of a substantial payout from the federal government had caused some ground zero workers to balk at participating in the proposed legal settlement, which would resolve as many as 10,000 lawsuits against the city.

Initially, the bill would have prohibited people from participating in the new federal compensation program if they had already been compensated for their injuries through a lawsuit, but a change was made in recent days eliminating that restriction.

Nevertheless, with action in the House uncertain at best, and no vote scheduled in the Senate, it appears almost guaranteed that there will be no new federal law by Sept. 8, the date by which ground zero workers involved in the lawsuits must decide whether to accept the settlement offer.

Under the terms of the deal, 95 percent of those workers must say yes for the court settlement to take effect.

The compensation system set up by the court would make payments ranging from $3,250 for people who aren’t sick but worry they could fall ill in the future to as much as $1.5 million to the families of people who have died. Nonsmokers disabled by severe asthma might get between $800,000 and $1 million.

About 25 percent of the money would go to pay legal fees. Contested claims would be heard by Feinberg, who would act as an appeals officer.

Researchers have found that thousands of New Yorkers exposed to trade center dust are now suffering from breathing difficulties similar to asthma. Many have also complained of heartburn or acid reflux, and studies have shown that firefighters who worked on the debris pile suffer from elevated levels of sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease.

Many of the workers also fear that the dust is giving people cancer, although scientific studies have failed to find evidence of such a link.

The exact number of sick is unclear. Nearly 15,900 people received treatment last year through medical programs set up to treat Sept. 11 related illnesses, but doctors say many of those people suffered from conditions that are common in the general public.

Caruso reported from New York.