healthcare for 911 first responders

[dnf777]

Someone PLEASE tell me that the party of 911, the party of hero worship, the party who's publicity arm (Fox News) paraded first responders on their shows for years.......is not filibustering the legislation AGAIN that would provide health benefits to those heroes.


What POSSIBLE reason do they have for denying these people compensation for the health effects they suffer from being there for us when we needed them? Why can we not be there for them?

this is a badge of disgrace for Mitch McConnell and the GoP.

[BonMallari]

ALWAYS follow the money trail, there is always other provisions in ANY bill that the public never sees

Opponents of the measure, trying to work out an agreement to hold some kind of vote before adjournment, repeatedly point out that they are not against this cause. Rather, as explained by an aide to Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz, there are "concerns" about the "ambiguity" in the bill, for example, how do you deal with any redundancy or overlap when it comes to those responders who will receive money from the Victims Compensation Fund and who, exactly, qualifies?

Still, GOP aides are more than conscious of the difficult position they are in against a powerful picture of cancer victims on national television pleading for help.

Aides on both sides of the argument say the pressure could break the logjam, but at the moment, Republicans have the power to possibly run out the clock in 2010, forcing supporters into a new Congress where fiscal concerns are paramount.

Separately, some people in the travel industry are troubled by the way the Schumer-Gillibrand bill pays for the $6 billion victims' fund. It takes a funding stream that is in existence until 2015 to help their industry -- a fee on tourists from 36 countries that participate in the visa waiver program, money that is then turned around in order to promote U.S. tourism.

Supporters of the tourism promotion originally said that money was "seed money" only and would end in 2015. Now some in the industry want to see that fee continued.

The 9/11 bill does extend that fee, but it takes the money to pay for the health care fund.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/20...#ixzz18n2XuUwY

[dnf777]

As it currently stands, it needs 6-7 billion dollars. That's two weeks in Afghanistan. We, as patriotic Americans who support our first responders can't come up with this? I mean, we hammered out a compromise on a 800 billion tax break for the rich, and benefits for the unemployed.......we can't come up with less than 1/100th of that for our heroes who are NOT rich and NOT unemployed? Where was the delay while we worked out "details" about tax breaks for those already getting loopholes, etc?

I'm not sure who was quoted, but surely they are not referring to a GOP congress when they say "fiscal concerns are paramount"??? Its Christmas time, not April fool's Day!

[BonMallari]

Dnf. not disagreeing with you, but they (both sides) are playing political games and the people that need the help are getting the shaft...the money is there, no doubt about that...it just comes down to arm twisting and hog trading, who gives up their pork and who gets what they want in exchange for a vote...

like the old joke about the working gal..."now that we have established what you are, all we are negotiating is the price.."

[dnf777]

like the old joke about the working gal..."now that we have established what you are, all we are negotiating is the price.."

Lord knows there's enough of THAT going on in DC!

But hey, getting caught can get you a job with CNN prime time!

[YardleyLabs]

Maybe it's time to do something about the deficit by paying for every new dollar that is going to be spent by either cutting something else or raising a new revenue source to pay for it, rather than using the size of our current deficit as an excuse for increasing the deficit even more. The positive side of the Democratic bill is that it provides a revenue source saying, in effect, that one good cause is better than another. Obviously that creates a conflict, but that is what balancing a budget is all about. Tax cuts, unemployment extensions, benefits for 9/11 responders, are all good causes. But the bills also have to be paid. What the Republicans have not done yet is to propose a specific, hard dollar approach for paying the bill other than that proposed by the Dems. It's all a question of priorities.

[Marvin S]

What POSSIBLE reason do they have for denying these people compensation for the health effects they suffer from being there for us when we needed them? Why can we not be there for them?

You might start by explaining to all on this forum what responsibility the national taxpayer bears for NYFD personnel. If you can do that I'll tell you why it's not good policy .

[dnf777]

You might start by explaining to all on this forum what responsibility the national taxpayer bears for NYFD personnel. If you can do that I'll tell you why it's not good policy .

You're kidding, right?

I would be happy and PROUD to know my tax dollars go to helping those who didn't hesitate in the face of personal danger to help fellow Americans. That was an attack on America. Not just NYC.

You ARE kidding, right?

[Buzz]

Maybe it's time to do something about the deficit by paying for every new dollar that is going to be spent by either cutting something else or raising a new revenue source to pay for it, rather than using the size of our current deficit as an excuse for increasing the deficit even more. The positive side of the Democratic bill is that it provides a revenue source saying, in effect, that one good cause is better than another. Obviously that creates a conflict, but that is what balancing a budget is all about. Tax cuts, unemployment extensions, benefits for 9/11 responders, are all good causes. But the bills also have to be paid. What the Republicans have not done yet is to propose a specific, hard dollar approach for paying the bill other than that proposed by the Dems. It's all a question of priorities.

Just a few weeks ago the deficit was the great evil facing America with intense focus on the report from the debt commission, everyone in Washington was saying that what we need is austerity NOW! The following week ushers in a magical extension of the Bush tax cuts, blowing a hole in the deficit that makes the Obama stimulus look like small potatoes. Face it, concern for the deficit is a front for opposing any progressive initiative, but that concern is quickly forgotten when running up the debt serves conservative goals.

[Buzz]

You're kidding, right?

I would be happy and PROUD to know my tax dollars go to helping those who didn't hesitate in the face of personal danger to help fellow Americans. That was an attack on America. Not just NYC.

You ARE kidding, right?

It wasn't just FDNY members who were injured either. Rescue personnel and steel workers came from across the country to dig for survivors and remains in that rubble pile.