Date: 2014-09-10
Speaker: CAROLYN B. MALONEY (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: New York

Mr. Speaker. tomorrow will mark the 13th anniversary of the terrorist attack of 9111. It is a day for us to remember and mourn those we lost. to comfort those who suffer still. and to honor those who responded on that day with courage and determination. In New York on those dark days. there were thousands of anonymous civilians and first responders who. without a seconds thought. gave their aid. They ran into burning buildings to save the lives of others. It is a day on which we lost 3.000 people. and thousands more lost their health in the wake of 9111. In response to the health crisis that the responders and others faced. this Congress came together in a bipartisan way and introduced the Zadroga Act. The Zadroga Act would provide health care to those who risked their lives to save the lives of others. Whenever we talk about 9111. we have to acknowledge the heroes and heroines of 9111. some who lost their lives that day and those who are still sick and dying from the injuries and illnesses related to 9111. As a Congress. we came together in groups all over America to comfort one another. and we stood together in our Nations capital and vowed that we would never forget. Never forget means that we dont forget next year or today. but we are always there to honor and to provide the health care to those who risked their lives to save the lives of others that day. We came together this week in New York with a determination to put forward a reauthorization of the Zadroga Act for 25 years. which would continue this program. so that the certainty would be there. so that the services and health care would be there for the first responders. the victims. the residents. and others who became ill. That vow of never forget comes with an obligation on the part of Congress. which is to ensure that we as a country remember. honor. and care for those who are now sick and for those who may still become sick from exposure to the deadly toxin mixes down at 9111. mixes of fuel and glass and toxins and all kinds of chemicals that they breathed that day. A major piece of that promise was the James Zadroga 9111 Health and Compensation Act. This legislation established the World Trade Center Health Program to provide medical monitoring and treatment for 9/11related illnesses and reopened the September llth Victim Compensation Fund to provide for economic losses and harm incurred from the aftermath of the attacks. We know that there are thousands of individuals with at least one 9/11related illness or injury. That includes over 2.900 people in the World Trade Center Health Program who have been diagnosed with cancer. We know that more than 800 New York Fire Department members and more than 550 New York Police Department personnel are struggling with serious 9/11related illnesses. We know that we have already lost over 70 firefighters and 60 New York Police Department officers who have died from their 9/11related illnesses since 9111. These are people who got sick while working at the pile. and they have died because of their exposure. We must continue to provide the specialized medical monitoring and care these heroes received through the World Trade Center Health Program and continue to provide economic compensation for the terrible costs they have borne by caring for those who cared so much for us. As it stands. the Zadroga Act is set to expire in October 2015. yet the medical and economic crises of sick 9111 responders and suffering survivors will not end in 2 years. They will only get worse over time. Research shows significantly higher rates of cancer among the 9111 population. a disease with a long latency period. Diseases can take decades to manifest themselves. That is why I plan to introduce. along with PETER KING. JERRY NADLER. the New York delegation. and many others. legislation that would reauthorize the Zadroga Acts program for 25 years. Named after Detective Zadroga. who was the first to die from 9/11related injuries. many others have been helped through this important program. It would continue the specialized Centers of Excellence. the national health program. the research into new medical conditions. and the victims compensation fund for those who may develop 9111 illnesses later and suffer related economic damages. This is not just a New York issue. and I would like to share this map with my colleagues to demonstrate how widespread it is. This map shows that there were first responders and volunteers who came from every corner of America. They returned to their hometowns. and that is why we have Centers of Excellence across this country to serve the responders and the volunteers who came to 9111. Many of them are now sick from the toxins that they were exposed to at Ground Zero. Some from the tristate area have since moved to other parts of the country. The map demonstrates the health programs participating. and participants are in 429 of the 435 congressional districts. This means that in almost every Members district. there are constituents who are accessing or who are being treated under the Zadroga health program. These are your constituents who are being monitored and who may be receiving treatment for 9/11related diseases. These Zadroga Act programs are vital to the sick and dying. They are vital to those to whom we said we will never forget. If we do not continue this program. then we are forgetting. so it is critical that we keep this promise and renew this program. Together. we can affirm what we said 13 years ago. that we will never forget what happened here. that we will never forget what was endured. and that we will never forget what we promised. As I said. this map illustrates that the populations in most of the congressional districts are being served by this. Today. there was a Gold Medal given to the museum in New York City for 9111. to the museum at the Pentagon for 9111. and to the museum in Pennsylvania for 9111. I urge my colleagues to visit all of these museums and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum which. so far. has had more than 14 million visitors since opening in September of 2011. The museum serves as the focal point to examining the implications of the events of 9111. documenting the impact of these events. and exploring the continuing significance of September 11. 2001. The 12.000 artifacts. 23.000 images. and almost 2.000 oral stories displayed at the museum remind all of us of that tragedy and what befell and happened that day. I want to tell the story of the man with the red bandana. He has since been identified as an equities trader who stayed behind and tied a red bandana around his face and helped many. many people get rescued. yet he fell when the towers fell. It tells the brave stories of many heroes and heroinesof first responders and participantswho helped others in the burning buildings that day. Now the museum has a new exhibit. one that marks an important event in our Nations response to 9111. It now displays at the museum a uniform worn by one of the members of SEAL Team Six. This is the courageous team that raided Pakistan. where Osama bin Laden was found and killed. It is a magnificent exhibit. I am proud to have had a role in helping to secure this artifact. and I hope people will have the opportunity to visit this new exhibit. The story of 9111 is not just of the suffering and of the tragedy of that day. but also of the responsehow we came together. united and determined. as a Congress. We came together to fight back. and I have never seen us work so strongly towards a common goal. In 2002. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security. which brought together 22 separate agencies and offices into a single Cabinetlevel department in order to secure our country from threats such as border security and cybersecurity. as well as coordinating efforts to respond to emergencies. We also created the bipartisan 9/11 Congressional Caucus. which eventually led to the creation of the 9111 Commission to investigate what exactly went wrong with our security and to make recommendations to protect our Nation against a terrorist attack. The Commission and its staff reviewed over 2.5 million pages of documents. interviewed over 1.200 individuals in 12 countries. including every relevant senior official of both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. and held 19 days of public hearings across the country. with over 160 witnesses testifying. This independent bipartisan Commission produced a book. the "9111 Commission Report." which is a wellinformed report that served as a blueprint for improving our security. The book sold more copies than Harry Potter. and it came out with suggestions of what we needed to do to make our country safer. Released in August of 2004. the Commissions report diagnosed the national security failures that led to 9111 and offered steps that we needed to take to avoid future attacks. We worked together in the CongressChris Shays and myself and other Members of Congressto support all of the 9111 Commission Caucus recommendations and the Commission recommendations. This led to the biggest reorganization of our countrys security system. the biggest reorganization of our government. since 1948. after World War II. and it created the Department of Homeland Security and forced all of the independent intelligence agencies to share information. not only on the national level but on the local level. with people who were working in the intelligence area for our protection. Since 9111. former Police Commissioner Kelly has informed us that well over 14 attacks on the city of New York were stopped because of the improved intelligence and police work that came out of this reorganization that we passed and put in place in Congress. Congress established a whole Civil Liberties Oversight Board in 2004 and later strengthened it in 2007. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was there to ensure that privacy and civil liberties concerns are fully considered when implementing antiterrorism laws. regulations. and executive branch policies. So the story of 9111 is not only the suffering. the health challenges. but also the story of how this Congress came together to address the challenges to reorganize. rebuild. change our government. our intelligence system. and put in place many safety measures that have served us well and have built our country into a stronger country and one that is better able to address terrorist attacks. I am pleased to have with me now JERROLD NADLER from New York. He represents the 9111 site. It is in the district that he is privileged to represent. He has worked long and hard not only on the 9111 Caucus. on the 9111 Commission Report. the laws that we have worked hard to put into law. but also the Zadroga Act. which together we worked on for over a decade. and yet it is now nearing a time when it will expire. We have to make sure that this bill is reauthorized and that never forget means just that. that we will never forget. and that means continuing the health care and compensation for those who sacrificed so much to help others. They were there for us. We need to be there for them. I would now like to yield to the gentleman from the great State of New York. JERRY NADLER.