Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) issued the following statement to declare his support for reauthorization legislation that provides health care and compensation for the more than 60,000 9/11 first responders and area residents and workers who continue to suffer from health conditions associated with the side effects caused by exposure to toxins at Ground Zero:
“Although more than a decade has passed since 9/11, the brave men and women who risked their lives to report for duty at Ground Zero on that fateful morning, as well as the weeks and months that followed, are still experiencing adverse health effects,” said Pallone. “I am proud to announce my intention to co-sponsor reauthorization legislation so that vital health care services and deserved compensation can be provided to our heroes who chose to run toward the fire and smoke that day, not away from it. Now, in their time of need, we must not run away from them. This critical program should be extended without delay.”
Without congressional action, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which passed Congress back in 2010, will expire in 2015. The legislation created a health program that provides monitoring and treatment for those suffering from adverse health effects, as well as a compensation fund for economic damages and loss for individuals and first responders who became ill from the toxins at Ground Zero.
Congressman Pallone served as the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health in 2010 when the original law passed. He helped author and secure passage of the Zadroga Act after eight years of examination of the public health effects of 9/11.
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