I think so and it's a shame. From the Dallas Examiner: The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009 was defeated in the House of Representatives last week. The bill would have provided federal funding for ongoing medical care for first responders and victims of the 9/11 disaster. The legislation was sponsored by Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) with 115 co-sponsors including Peter King (R-NY). The bill which seemed to be a bipartisan effort was not expected to fail. But of the 15 Republican co-sponsors, only 12 voted for their own bill
Did you even read the bill? By your response you don't get what happened and why the GOP did not vote for it. LOOK.IT.UP!
I found this list of conerns at a GOP website. Perhaps they thought the bill needed improvement before making it law. Without reading the statute I can't comment on the validity of the concerns, but as a matter of principle, good intentions are no substitute for good legislation. H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
Prodigal, all you know about me is what I choose to disclose in this forum. Outside of that, you can't be sure about anything. The Republicans, not surprisingly, couldn't see the forest for the trees.
We have to stop putting so much crap into bills. Why is it so hard for politicians to keep it simple? It should be a primary topic in law school.
Let this be a warning to all of you. Next time you see your best friends and co-workers lying in a pile of rubble or in need of immediate help to save their life, you better stop and ask yourself one question, "will my insurance cover this?" If so, go at it and be a hero. If not, say f**k 'em, better them than me and watch them as they bleed out and get squished by concrete.
If I calculated correctly, it paid each of 50,000 first responders $204,000 each. It gave estimates to the number of first responders and was vague on how each would receive their funds. It paid for the bill taxing US businesses. While noble in thought, why not set up a fund for every policeman, fireman, and military person in the United States the same benefit? The answer is that it, like this bill, is simply unsustainable.
The bill had 255 votes for passage. Many more than the 218 originally needed. Pelosi raised the number needed to pass to 290 in order to make it look like the Repubs were causing it to fail. Politics as usual!!
The comment you quote tells only part of the story. Had Republicans not been intent on attaching language about illegal immigrants to the Bill, it would have passed easily.
Are you upset with Pelosi playing politics? Are you upset with Dems adding non-relevant statutes into the bill? Are you upset that you didn't know the details of the bill? Are you saddened that this thread, like most, has come back to bite you in the ***? Or are you in denial about the whole thing? I guess denial as I am sure that you are about to post a new non-sequitur. And though I like the idea of chickens hangin' with Colonel Sanders, I have little hope that you come over to the good side and chill with the fiscal conservatives.
My post was sarcasm. I would be happy to pay a dollar or two out of my wages (which are currently $0) to give some first responders to 9/11 the best healthcare money can buy, even though this bill was going to tax business.
I don't see it as welfare. If a soldier gets injured the government pays for his rehab. This was an attack on America that became the justification for two wars. The people that risked their lives to save American citizens were doing the duty of the American government which was unprepared. Injuries they incurred are the responsibility of both the government and the owners of the WTC for failing to remove health concerns from their building. If you treat your heros like **** (which this country does to perfection), you aren't going to have anymore left when you need them.
630, While I definitely want these people to have the best care possible, setting up this type of legislation does not provide it anymore than the new healthcare reform does. I have several friends who would be classified as one of the 50,000 first responders. Thank God, none of them have any known diseases from their efforts. However, do they now qualify for payment based upon the unknown? I also lost a close friend in Iraq. His family struggles to get by, but there is little effort such as this type of legislation to help his widow and three kids. All real support comes from family and friends. My point is that such help is unfortunately unsustainable. These type of tragic events will likely occur again and again. There is simply no way our government can establish payment systems such as this legislation every time it happens.
It appears that both parties played politics with what should have been a straight forward bill. Pelosi artificially inflated the number needed for passage, GOP attached riders that had NOTHING to do with the matter at hand. Disgusting and a pox on both their houses.
