Legislation Named In Honor of North Arlington
Native Who Died From Respiratory
Diseases Contracted At Ground Zero
Pascrell Joins Colleagues in Introducing James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 14, 2015) – Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), Chair of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and Co-chair of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, joined Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Peter King (R-NY) in introducing the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act. The legislation would reauthorize the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides medical monitoring and treatment for first responders at the World Trade Center and related sites in New York City, Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA.
“James Zadroda’s selfless sacrifice represents the best our nation has to offer, so it’s fitting this legislation is named in his honor,” stated Pascrell, an original member of the House Homeland Security Committee a current member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. “Many of the 9/11 heroes and survivors still suffer the effects of the airborne toxins at Ground Zero, and under no circumstance should they be left holding the bag for their medical costs. I’ll continue to fight for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act in order to do right by these heroes and continue the progress we have made since the law’s initial passage. It’s our obligation to care for the innocent victims that worked on our nation’s behalf for the days, weeks and months after we were attacked.”
Along with providing medical monitoring and treatment for 9/11 first responders, the legislation would also extend the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which provides monetary compensation for those physically injured by the attacks or by response activities and debris removal. These programs would be made permanent under the reauthorization.
Congress first passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act in 2010, which Rep. Pascrell cosponsored. Included in those receiving medical treatment are over 2,800 people who have been certified as having a 9/11 cancer. The Zadroga Act also reopened the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which has made over 1,300 compensation determinations and has deemed over 7,000 injured 9/11 individuals eligible for compensation.
Named for James Zadroga, a 34-year-old North Arlington native and NYPD officer who died from respiratory diseases contracted at Ground Zero, the bill has provided medical monitoring and treatment to the over 60,000 people exposed to harmful toxins and dust on the scene, including 3,881 first responders and 513 survivors from New Jersey.
Det. Zadroga was just one of the many police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel who responded at the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001 and were exposed to a massive, highly toxic plume of dust from the collapse of the Twin Towers. In many cases, this exposure resulted in serious respiratory illnesses and related conditions.
– Office of Congressman Pascrell