Sen. Clinton wants $1.9B for 9/11 health funds

http://www.amny.com/news/local/newyo...m-topheadlines

By Chuck Bennett
January 23, 2007

For the second day in a row Monday Clinton the Candidate attracted dozens of reporters from around the world -- this time as she demanded President Bush set aside $1.9 billion for 9/11 responders.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, during her second public appearance since announcing her White House ambitions Saturday, said it was "immoral and unacceptable" that federal funding will run out this summer for programs that treat first responders and lower Manhattan residents sickened by World Trade Center dust.

"I believe this is a moral responsibility of the nation," Clinton said, flanked by fellow members of Congress, 9/11 responders, and advocates. "This is a crisis and we need the president to respond."

Clearly the star of the news conference -- she drew a paparazzi-like swarm of photographers while Sen. Chuck Schumer was all but ignored -- Clinton also renewed calls for a comprehensive plan that will monitor everyone who was exposed to World Trade Center dust.

The worsening health of 9/11 responders has been a smoldering issue since last September when studies found 70% of them suffered some kind of respiratory damage and 60% continue to have problems.

Clinton also took a shot at the city government practice of challenging 9/11 disability claims.

"We appeal the city to end its resistance to taking care of people who took care of us," she said.

The mayor's spokesman Stu Loeser declined to talk about challenges to workers' 9/11-related claims, but said Bloomberg "has set up a WTC Environmental Health Center at Bellevue Hospital to expand assessment and treatment for those who fall through the cracks of existing federally-funded programs."

To highlight the human toll of the World Trade Center diseases, Clinton invited Ceaser Borja Jr., 21, as her guest at the president's State of the Union address Tuesday. Borja's father, a retired NYPD cop who has pulmonary fibrosis after responding on 9/11, is awaiting a double lung transplant.

Likewise, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan/Queens), who warned that health clinics will "get foreclosure notices," invited Joseph Zadroga, whose son, James, a police officer who responded on 9/11, died last year of a World Trade Center-related illness. He was the first confirmed death directly caused by exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.

Congressional hearings on funding for sick 9/11 responders is scheduled for Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

As for the presidential buzz, Clinton declined to talk about anything off-topic and took just two questions. She took questions on a live Web cast Monday evening.