HOUSE GOP KILLS MEDICAL FUNDING FOR 9/11 VICTIMS....
HOUSE GOP KILLS MEDICAL FUNDING FOR 9/11 VICTIMS.... Following up on an item from yesterday, it appears Republican reverence for all things related to the 9/11 attacks is officially over.
Congress turned thumbs down on the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act on Thursday night, raising doubts it will ever pass.
Most Republicans refused to back the measure, calling it a "slush fund," and saying it was another example of Democratic overreach and an "insatiable" appetite for taxpayers' money.
The bill would spend $3.2 billion on health care over the next 10 years for people sickened from their exposure to the toxic smoke and debris of the shattered World Trade Center. It would spend another $4.2 billion to compensate victims over that span, and make another $4.2 billion in compensation available for the next 11 years.
So, as Republicans see it, we can afford tax breaks for billionaires. But care for 9/11 victims, not so much.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), perhaps best known for his apology to BP after the company's oil spill, "said the rest of the country should not bear the brunt of helping New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of the terror attacks." [Update: To clarify, this is a paraphrase from the New York Daily News, not a direct quote of Barton.]
How could House Republicans kill the bill in a majority-rule chamber? As it turns out, Dems brought the measure to the floor as a "suspension bill," because they didn't want the GOP to try to gut the legislation with poison-pill amendments. But this strategy meant the bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass. The final vote was 255 to 159 -- far short of the two-thirds threshold -- with 155 Republicans in opposition, many of them saying they would consider supporting the bill, but only if the GOP were allowed to push unrelated amendments intended to embarrass the majority.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y), whose constituents include many directly affected by this legislation, wasn't especially impressed with the Republican argument:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4zwCMf8dsc
1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Departme...
1.H.R. 847 creates a new entitlement program.
2.H.R. 847 is paid for with a tax increase on companies located in the United States that are employing American workers.
3.H.R. 847 is not means tested. An amendment to preclude millionaires from accessing the new health entitlement created by Title I was defeated during the markup in Energy and Commerce Committee.
4.NIOSH does not have expertise in administering a health care payment program. The current program is a block-grant program, and under H.R. 847, NIOSH will negotiate contracts and approve treatment protocols.
5.H.R. 847 increases hospital reimbursement rates to 140 percent of Medicare reimbursement rates on average for New York City hospitals while ObamaCare cuts $150 billion in payments to hospitals around the country.
6.H.R. 847 does not reward hospitals and providers for improving health care. They will be reimbursed based on each service they perform, which will encourage overutilization and increase health care spending.
7.Currently, several programs receive federal funding for medical monitoring and treatment programs. Those programs include: Fire Department of New York WTC Medical Monitoring Program, New York/New Jersey WTC Consortium, WTC Health Registry, WTC Federal Responder Screening Program, Project COPE, and POPPA (Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance) program.
8.Limited oversight fails to ensure taxpayer funds are spent properly and effectively. Government health care programs, such as Medicare, have a significant amount of fraud.
9.H.R. 847 gives too much discretion in the unreviewable authority of the Special Master.
10.H.R. 847 permits claimants to seek compensation through the VCF even if they have settled their lawsuits against the $1 billion taxpayer-funded World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company.
11.H.R. 847 includes protections for trial lawyers, including the ability to receive taxpayer-funded compensation for work not directly related to recovery from the VCF. In addition, attorneys who have been compensation under another settlement will have access to settlement funds under the reopened VCF.
12.12. H.R. 847 extends the geographic scope of the original September 11 Fund and gives the Special Master discretion to extend it even farther.
13.H.R. 847 caps the VCF at $8.4 billion, which is an invitation and a guarantee to spend $8.4 billion.
This is a funding history of September 11, health programs:
•Fiscal Year 2002:
◦Congress directed $12 million in supplemental appropriations to the CDC to develop a baseline medical screening program for WTC responders.
◦Fiscal Year 2003:
■Congress provided $90 million to continue baseline screenings and to provide long-term medical monitoring of program participants.
◦Fiscal Year 2006:
■Congress provided $75 million for ongoing registry, screening, and monitoring activities, and stipulated for the first time that funds could also be used for treatment.
◦Fiscal Year 2007:
■In May 2007, Congress provided an additional $50 million in supplemental funding for FY2007, to remain available until expended.
◦Fiscal Year 2008:
■Congress provided a total appropriation of approximately $108.1 million, providing in the law that funds shall be used "... to provide screening and treatment for first response emergency services personnel, residents, students, and others.... "
◦Fiscal Year 2009:
■The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill included $70M “to provide screening and treatment for first response emergency services personnel, residents, students, and others related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center:..."
■The accompanying Explanatory Statement for the FY09 Omnibus included the following language: "For the World Trade Center (WTC) Medical Monitoring and Treatment program, the fiscal year 2009 program level is $182M. Approximately $112M in carryover balances from prior year appropriated funds are available in fiscal year 2009. Combined with the $70M included in this bill, the total amount available for the WTC program is sufficient to continue to expand the program in the New York City area and around the country for first response emergency personnel, residents, students, and others whose health has been impacted from exposure to toxins in or around the WTC site."
◦Fiscal Year 2010:
■The FY2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill included “$70.723M “shall be available until expended to provide screening and treatment for first response emergency services personnel, residents, students, and others related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.”
Why do Republicans hate people and America so much?
Both parties are at fault here, not just the GOP.
*rolls eyes -- tired of the biased reporting*