Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
House Sends 9/11 Victim Fund Bill To Senate In Wake Of Jon Stewart's Public Shaming Of Congress Over Issue
The Associated Press: House Approves 9/11 Victims Bill, Sends It To Senate
The House on Friday overwhelmingly approved a bill ensuring that a victims compensation fund for the Sept. 11 attacks never runs out of money. The 402-12 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to call a vote before Congress goes on its August recess. Lawmakers from both parties hailed the House vote, which comes a month after comedian Jon Stewart sharply criticized Congress for failing to act. (Daly, 7/12)
The Wall Street Journal: House Passes Bill Shoring Up 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund
The legislation, which passed the House by a 402-12 vote, would fund all current and future medical claims from 9/11 survivors through 2090. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of fully funding the trust at roughly $10.2 billion. The fund was created to pay health-care costs for volunteers and rescue workers who have become sick since responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and United Flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pa. It also compensates survivors of the attacks and residents who lived near the sites. (Rubin, 7/12)
The New York Times: House Votes To Extend 9/11 Fund For Lifetimes Of First Responders
Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York, who has led the charge to replenish the fund, said the bill fulfilled “a moral obligation” Congress has to the Sept. 11 emergency workers, who rushed to the rubble immediately after the attacks, and others who worked there in the months that followed. The cause was championed by the comedian Jon Stewart and brought to an emotional peak by the death two weeks ago of Luis G. Alvarez, a former New York City detective and advocate for the emergency workers. “It’s the least we can do as a grateful nation,” Ms. Maloney said. “They were there for us; we have to be there for them, and we have a double moral responsibility. Not only were they the veterans of the war on terror, they were told by their government that the site was safe, when it was not.” (Davis, 7/12)
CBS News: Victim Compensation Fund: House Votes To Permanently Reauthorize 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund After Outcry
The measure was brought back into the limelight after Stewart's testimony last month, during which Stewart at times broke down in tears, shouting at the lawmakers and calling them "shameful." "I can't help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is ... a filled room of 9/11 first responders and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one ... shameful," said Stewart. (Tillett and Segers, 7/12)
Roll Call: 9/11 Aid Bill Passes House After Emotional Lobbying Campaign
The fund’s life already has been extended several times as more victims develop cancer and other ailments from environmental contaminants at the crash sites. Most of the health problems stem from breathing toxic air at Ground Zero, where the former twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. “We have asked so much of our responders and survivors,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose district includes the World Trade Center site, said in floor debate. “It is time for us to give them the peace of mind they deserve.” (Lerman, 7/12)
Vox: House Passes Funding For 9/11 First Responders After Public Shaming From Jon Stewart
The bill now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has committed to giving it a vote in August, following extensive pressure to do so. “As soon as the House passes this bill, it should be on the floor of the Senate immediately as a standalone bill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in June. “I am imploring, pleading, and even begging to Leader McConnell to put this bill on the floor as soon as it passes the House.” (Zhou, 7/12)
Newsweek: 9/11 First Responder Warns Mitch McConnell To Keep His Word On Victims Fund Or His Team Will Make His Life 'Miserable''
A 9/11 first responder in an MSNBC appearance with comedian Jon Stewart told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reauthorize the 9/11 Victims Fund or else his team would make the senator's life "miserable." "If Mitch McConnell or anybody in the Senate plays games," first responder John Feal said on Andrea Mitchell Reports Friday, "Myself and my team, Jon Stewart, we come back and make their lives miserable." (Kowng, 7/12)
