9/11 Health Bill To Get Vote In Senate

The Senate is set to possibly vote Wednesday on the Zadroga bill, a piece of legislation designed to set aside billions in federal health aid to the first responders at Ground Zero during the Sept. 11 attacks.

The bill, , is named after James Zadroga, considered to be the first 9/11 responder who died as a result of injuries sustained during the clean-up of the Ground Zero site.

The bill, if passed, would create a $7 billion health fund made available to first responders who are suffering health problems as a result of the time spent at Ground Zero in the wake of the attacks.

D-Forest Hills, who gained a great deal of notoriety earlier this year for his on-floor dressing down of Republicans who voted against the measure in the House, has said that if the bill doesn't make it through the Senate this week, it will likely disappear.

"I fear this is the last chance to pass this bill," Weiner said. "The heroes who rushed to help their neighbors on 9/11 have waited far too long. How many more badges do we need to see before we give these men and women the care they deserve?"

Weiner has spent months trying to get the Senate to take up the vote after it passed the House by a substantial 268-160 margin on Sept. 29. During a recent press conference, he stood with members of the New York City Police and Firefighter's unions, both of which have campaigned aggressively for benefits for Ground Zero first responders.

Since it passed the House, New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer have tried to get the bill through the recently intractable Senate, without any success.

Gillibrand praised the decision of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to put the vote up for debate on the Senate floor this week.

"The 9/11 heroes deserve an up or down vote," Gillibrand said. "Let's put politics aside, engage in a thorough and respectful debate, and then 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."

Nearly 40,000 New York City residents are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry, a program that monitors the health of those exposed to toxins at the site.