Originally Posted By skinnerbox Today marks the 11th anniversary of 9/11. And in these past 11 years since that day, the first responders who have been dying or crippled with major health complications, are still waiting for the medical relief they deserve: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/9-11-fund-september-11-responders_n_1872349.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...349.html</a> <> September 11 Responders Still Waiting For Relief Promised In 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- It's been 11 years since terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center towers, and more than a year-and-a-half since President Barack Obama signed into law a bill meant to compensate responders and survivors sickened from exposure to the hazardous debris and toxins of Ground Zero. But they're going to have to wait a while longer -- perhaps more than a year -- before most of them start to see any of the money authorized in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. "It's going to be a process, and I think it's going to take a year or two until that process really gets moving," said Sheila Birnbaum, the special master of the $2.775 billion 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. "People have to get medical records, they have to do all kinds of things, and they're going to have to get certified that they meet the criteria." The compensation fund was supposed to start work in July of 2011, and many believed that money would start to flow a year later. It hasn't, and although there are explanations for why, people whose lives were shattered by the terrorists' attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are starting to get frustrated. "These people need the the money. I talk to a lot of them, they're all struggling along and they're not getting anything," said Joe Zadroga, the father of the late police officer after whom the Zadroga Act is named. "These people are really down," Zadroga added. "I just get upset about it because we fought so hard to get that bill passed, and now they're dragging their feet on it." "We still haven't gotten 10 cents," said TJ Gilmartin, a construction worker from Brooklyn who rushed to Ground Zero with a truck after the attacks, and has seen his ability to work deteriorate, along with the health of his lungs. "I've had people turn around and say, 'You can go get food stamps,'" Gilmartin said, noting that he believed they meant well. "I'm so lucky, I got a fiancee that's been taking care of me," he said. "My Corvette is gone, my Rolex is gone. Everything that I worked 30 years for in construction, worked hard for, I had to sell to live." While people like Gilmartin and Zadroga are frustrated, they aren't necessarily ready to start handing out blame. That's because a large part of the delay stemmed from the debate over whether or not cancer would be covered under the Zadroga Act. The causes of cancer are complicated, and there was relatively scant data to analyze because the Bush administration hadn't set up the original 9/11 health program to collect it or study it. But the question was finally answered Monday, when the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health issued a rule declaring that some 50 varieties of cancer would be covered for peopled deemed to have suffered sufficient exposure. That rule will be published Wednesday and go into effect after 30 days. Responders are relieved cancer will be covered, but it also creates problems because covering cancer is much more expensive, and potentially opens up the compensation fund to more people, including many who don't yet know if they are sick. At the same time, the money to pay for it is fixed at $2.775 billion, unlike the first compensation fund authorized soon after the attacks, which was unlimited. Simply starting to make payments before the cancer question was answered could have exhausted the money too quickly -- even if responders like Gilmartin are in dire need of assistance now. "Could they have given awards out?" said Michael Barasch, a lawyer who represents thousands of responders and survivors, including Gilmartin and Zadroga. "Sure, but they have to hold money back to make sure that those people in the future who come down with cancer, that there's some money available for them." The special master, Birnbaum, who spoke to The Huffington Post Friday, before Monday's decision, predicted that she could start to work on claims in earnest once the 30-day clock expired. But she warned it would be complicated. First, of the money authorized, Congress specified that only $875 million could be spent in the first round of payouts, with the remainder being held until the sixth year of the program. "It's prorated, based on the amount of claimants and the amount of awards that they're going to get, that we estimate are going to happen," Birnbaum said. "Until the regulations are finalized by NIOSH, we can't estimate how much money we will need to prorate." Estimating the number of potential claimants is another problem. In addition to people who are part of the separate World Trade Center health program -- which got $1.5 billion from the Zadroga bill -- the compensation fund could cover thousands of other people who lived or worked near Ground Zero. Estimates of how many people could wind up eligible vary widely, ranging anywhere from 17,000 to 80,000. And Birnbaum said even among those who are likely to qualify, she has only received a few hundred fully completed applications. "It's nobody's fault. It's not our fault, it's not the lawyers' fault," Birnbaum said, noting that people have to prove they were at the site, that they were significantly exposed, that they suffered covered injuries and what those injuries have cost them. "People are gathering up the documentation they need to prove their claim," she said. "We have very few [completed] forms that even get to the compensation piece yet, so we're not in a position to be giving money yet." There have been bureaucratic complications, as well. The fund was supposed to be up and running in July 2011, though it was not funded until October. Aside from waiting for the rulings on cancer, Birnbaum had to get a complicated computer system up and running. And, in line with one of the more controversial stipulations Congress included, Birnbaum also had to work with the Department of Justice to run the names of 9/11 responders against the terrorism watch list. Birnbaum said none of the few hundred applications that have been run have turned up any terrorist suspects. The lawmaker who included that provision, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), recently lost his primary election. Ailing responders are aware of many of the details and remain somewhat forgiving. But they point out that, for some of them, there is little time left. "There's guys dropping dead every week," Gilmartin said. "There must be another 50 dead since this bill's been signed." "It's our responsibility to make sure everybody is treated fairly," said Birnbaum. "We can only do the best we can." <> These people deliberately threw themselves into the toxic stew to save people's lives. And many of them have already died, while others still battle severe illnesses that keep them from working, that have drained their life savings for expensive medical treatments. The fact that this has dragged on for 11 years is an embarrassment to this nation. Shame on any politician in Congress who dragged this out by voting against medical relief efforts for the First Responders. And yes, Republican Congressmen John Shimkus, Dave Camp, and Kevin Brady, I'm looking at you: <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-4-2010/i-give-up---9-11-responders-bill" target="_blank">http://www.thedailyshow.com/wa...ers-bill</a> All Republicans who voted against the First Responder Health Care bill in 2010 should be hanging their heads in shame today. And that especially includes Paul Ryan, who voted against the bill THREE TIMES. Here we are, 11 years later, and these true heroes are still waiting for their care they deserve. Effn unbelievable.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Important to remember that Paul Ryan voted against the 9/11 relief bills repeatedly.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 The subway I take every day passes right under Ground Zero. The smell as you traveled under it (even just near it) was unbelievable. A stench unlike anything else and soooo strong. For MONTHS on end. I tried to breathe as shallowly as I could during those few minutes the train was traveling near, getting directly under, and then pulling away from it. I can't imagine working in that environment day after day, for hours. Anyone who did is a true hero and anyone who smelled that day after day like I did has ZERO doubt that it could cause severe health problems. To this day (especially today) I shudder when I think about than damn smell.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Oh man that smell! I had to go back to work in the area quickly after and that smell was really awful. To this day, anything that smells remotely like it, like an electrical fire, makes me queasy.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox I can remember that smell when visiting BPC in Dec 2001. We had stayed at the Marriott World Trade just five weeks before 9/11, so I was quite familiar with the towers, the eateries, shops, etc. So going back four months later was a complete shock, seeing what remained of the towers and the surrounding area. And you're spot on about the smell. I could even catch whiffs of it time to time down by Bowling Green. This is one of those life moments where it's hard not to believe in the hand of fate. We were visiting in Aug 2001 looking for a condo to buy in BPC. We were poised and ready for a move from San Francisco, and we liked the BPC area of NYC. The only reason we didn't end buying something during the trip was our interest in a green building development just starting south of Tribeca. So we decided to wait a while. Given the major health problems I've been having for the past decade, I cannot imagine what would have happened to me, had we purchased a condo during our trip and moved to BPC over Labor Day.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox In honor of those brave men and women who worked at Ground Zero 11 years ago today, I give you former Rep. Weiner's awesome rant in its entirety: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O_GRkMZJn4" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...GRkMZJn4</a> I really regret this man's indiscretions later on. He was an excellent Representative for New York. We really could use more of this kind of intestinal fortitude on the floor of Congress.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 (For those of you unfamiliar with New York, BPC=Battery Park City, a neighborhood right across from the World Trade Center, built on landfill created from earth excavated to build the WTC.)
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 It's a nice area. Quite a lot of the current NYC waterfront is actually reclaimed land. Often, they would just dump anything and everything in there to fill it in, including trash. I am going back to school and I have classes down by the WTC site, so it's interesting to see how much has changed, and...how much hasn't. in the last 11 years.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I have to say that yesterday was the first 9/11 since 2001 that I didn't really feel any elevated anxiety riding the subway. Until this year I've always felt a little unease, wondering if someone would try to "mark" the anniversary. Yesterday I had already gotten to work before I realized "hey, I didn't even think about that today."
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 You know what? Me too! I don't know why either. Lots of friends were still weird about it, but me...I think I'm done being nervous. Now, the smell, that's a trigger, but it only happens if there is something like it around me. But, I refuse to alter my behavior out of fear.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Me too. I TOOK the subway every 9/11 that was a weekday since 2001; I just felt a little uneasy about it. And I made it a point to go back to work on 9/13/2001 (the subways weren't running at all on 9/12). Lots of people I know stayed home from work longer than that, but I felt like it was important to get back to normal as soon as possible and not give in to fear. But yeah, anything that smells kinda like THAT smell (and thank God nothing smells exactly like it) is still a trigger, to this day.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Yeah. The job I had at the time took the week right after off...I mean, it was almost impossible to actually return to work. When we did, they had a project in Utah that the offered...NOBODY wanted to go. I volunteered. Everyone else was afraid to fly, but I figured, why let this affect my life in such a dramatic way? I felt like I should do things as normally as possible. Now, the sounds of planes flying overhead, and that smell, of course set "fight or flight" triggers off in me, at the time, but I really tried to "carry on" within weeks. Now, I just keep my wits about me and do everything normally, and it's really just the trigger of smell left.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Yep, me too. Overhead planes have been just background noise again for a long time, but they did trigger an "uh-oh" response for a while in a lot of New Yorkers.
