by ARI PAUL
The Federal Government May 12 vowed that money to keep 9/11 health treatment programs running would immediately be made available, the same day two Federal lawmakers warned that delays in approving operating agreements threatened the survival of the health network.
In a letter to U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler had said, "All of the six clinical centers and two data centers that make up the WTC responder program in New York City will end on June 30 of this year unless their existing cooperative agreements are extended for another year."
Time to Act Fast Approaching
While the Obama Administration previously promised that these extensions would be granted, the lawmakers said, "with less than seven weeks remaining in their current contracts, OMB has still not approved these extensions."
The letter continued, "Without this approval, the centers will soon be forced to begin notifying their staff about potential layoffs and notifying their patients that the clinics will no longer be able to provide them with treatment for their WTC-related health conditions. The physicians at these centers have a moral and legal obligation to give their patients adequate notice in order for the patients to be able to make alternative arrangements for their care. All of the clinics must begin preparing such notices within the next few weeks."
An OMB spokesman insisted that all the money was approved and on its way to the programs.
Push for Zadroga Bill
The fund infusion came as first-responder advocates renewed their push for the James Zadroga Act, a bill that would grant long-term Federal funding for the 9/11 health monitoring and treatment programs.
John Feal, the founder of the responder advocacy group the Feal Good Foundation, was in Washington, D.C. last week meeting with members of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy Committee, which could vote on the bill as early as May 19, sending it to a full House vote.
He was confident that the committee would pass the bill, and said that it had the renewed support of U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer. The bill had undergone some compromises to garner support, including a reduction in spending on the health funding portion of the bill, from $5 billion to $4 billion, and the bill would have to be reconsidered in 10 years from its first passage, down from 20.
"The bill's not perfect, but on a scale from one to 10 it's a 7 1/2," Mr. Feal said after returning from his lobbying trip. "I think it's going to be easier to pass the bill."
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