Salute to a recruit to Zadroga Act 9/11 aid renewal
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:05 PM
An atta-boy to New Jersey Republican Rep. Scott Garrett for enlisting on Tuesday as a cosponsor of a bill that would provide continued health coverage and monetary compensation to rescue and recovery workers who were sickened at Ground Zero.
What with so much going on in Washington, Garrett had apparently overlooked the duty until that morning, when a reminder in this space noted that he was the only member of the New Jersey delegation without his name on the measure.
With Dan Donovan, sworn in that night to represent Staten Island and a nub of Brooklyn, Garrett joins budding GOP support for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
Enacted in 2010 after entrenched Republican opposition, the law authorized spending $4.2 billion on specialized medical care for 9/11 responders, along with compensation. The sum was $3 billion short of the amount sought by Democrats and coverage was cut to five years.
Without congressional renewal, thousands of suffering Ground Zero laborers will lose critical health care assistance. In control of both the House and Senate, the Republicans will be crucial to preventing such a catastrophe.
That’s why having Garrett on board helps build momentum and why Donovan gets a thumbs-up for making co-sponsorship his very first legislative action.
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/editorial-salute-recruit-9-11-aid-renewal-article-1.2221301