GOPer’s gall in 9/11 stall
WASHINGTON — Advocates for the survivors of 9/11 are furious at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for blocking passage of the Zadroga Act.
They see the Kentucky Republican as the last and only obstacle for sick heroes to get funding for their much-needed medical care as they tramp down once again to Washington on Thursday to demand action and lawmakers scramble to find a way to save the program.
After promising not to stand in the way of the bill if everyone else could agree on how to pass it, McConnell seemingly did just that.
According to multiple Democrats involved in the negotiations, he demanded they agree to lifting the ban on exporting U.S. oil internationally, looking to horse-trade on the backs of the 9/11 heroes.
“Mitch McConnell is the only one we know of in D.C. who is holding up the James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act,” said 9/11 advocate John Feal, who met with McConnell’s staff on Wednesday. “He lied, and not only did he lie, he morally failed these people as Senate majority leader, and he failed as a human being.”
McConnell’s office insists no one had agreed on how to fund the Zadroga Act by the time the highway bill had to be completed, though a spokesman wouldn’t deny that McConnell had brought up trading ending the oil export ban for the bill.
“Once the bill is complete, then it can move forward. I hope to hear soon that the bill is complete and ready for action. But no one is blocking it. Members are working on it,” McConnell spokesman Don Stewart told the Daily News.
Lawmakers were all set to fund the health care portion permanently and fully fund a victims’ compensation act for five years using money in the highway bill until McConnell objected at the last minute. And Democrats and other advocates are incensed.
“Using the health of 9/11 workers as a bargaining chip in an attempt to horse trade is outrageous. These brave men and women rushed headfirst into the towers without asking for anything in return. We should honor their sacrifice and pass the Zadroga bill right now — there isn’t any reason to delay,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told The News.