Pols and 9/11 first responders ring NYSE closing bell to celebrate passage of Zadroga Act

February 23, 2016 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Eagle file photo by Rob Abruzzese

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U.S. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Dan Donovan (R-NY) on Monday joined 9/11 survivors and responders to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in honor of the passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act.

Maloney, who introduced the legislation with Nadler, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Donovan, succeeded in attaching the legislation to an omnibus spending bill that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December. Several organizations that worked to pass the legislation, including Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, the FealGood Foundation, the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association and Council District 37, joined more than a dozen responders, survivors and doctors for the event.

“Today, more than 70,000 of responders and survivors rely on the World Trade Center Health Program for medical monitoring and treatment for 9/11 related illnesses,” said Maloney. “The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is also there to help these men and women become financially whole again. So many were cut down in the prime of their lives and lost out on years of income as a result of their illnesses.

“These programs were established in 2010 when the Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act,” Maloney continued. “The bill was authorized for a period of five years. It was set to expire, but then, last year, brave men and women locked arms and took to the halls of Congress to make their case. They demanded not just to be heard, but for Congress to act, and they won. Today we celebrate that victory.”