House GOP leaders: 9/11 first responders aid bill 'a massive new entitlement program'

House Republican leadership is advising its members to vote against a bipartisan bill that would, among other things, bolster medical support to Sept. 11 victims.

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009, sponsored by New York City Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D), provides medical monitoring to those exposed to toxins at Ground Zero, bolsters treatment at specialized centers for those afflicted by toxins on 9/11 and reopens a compensation fund to provide economic loss to New Yorkers.

And it’s all paid for by closing a tax loophole on foreign companies with U.S. subsidiaries, Democrats say.

But according to Republicans it’s a job-killing growth of government that creates a new entitlement and wastes taxpayer dollars.

The bill, if passed, would reopen the Victims Compensation Fund until 2031 – instead of litigation, victims could try to get money from the fund. Republicans are calling the extension “well beyond what is needed to take care of latent claims,” according to a policy statement from the GOP.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0710/House_GOP_leaders_911_first_responders_aid_bill_a_massive_new_entitlement_program.html?showall

George got Christie Whitman, the EPA head at the time, to sound the "all's clear" signal before the zone was healthy again.

People's health was knowingly sacrificed in the name of commerce! Not much different than our two current wars, you might say.

-90% Jimmy