Politics & Government

Second Chance For 9/11 Health Care Bill?

Gillibrand says Zadroga bill coming back to floor before lame duck session ends.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, believes she has the votes to get the passed in the U.S. Senate before the end of the current session, she said Friday morning.

She also said in a statement that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, was likely to put the bill back on the floor.

The bill would create a $7 billion fund for first responders suffering from health defects because of time spent at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. It passed the house in September of this year and has since then been languishing in the Senate.

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An attempt last week to bring the bill to the floor was defeated when the bill's sponsors could not muster the necessary 60 votes to break a filibuster by the Senate's Republican caucus.

Republican's filibustered the bill in an attempt to make sure the Senate did not leave Washington before passing a passage of tax and spending cuts, part of which would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for two years. The bill also includes a 13-month extension for some recipients of unemployment benefits.

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The tax cut package passed the house late on Thursday night.

Now, Gillibrand said, it's time for the Senate to do what she believes is right by the first responders who worked at Ground Zero.

 "I urge my Republican colleagues to end the filibuster, engage in an open and respectful debate, and let each senator decide for themselves whether the heroes and victims of Sept. 11 deserve quality health treatment and appropriate compensation for their tremendous loss and sacrifice," Gillibrand said. "The 9/11 heroes deserve an up or down vote."


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