A measure to provide billions in health care to 9/11 rescue and recovery workers will not pass a House vote, predicts U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) in today’s New York Post. Democrats wish to pass the bill under a special rule requiring a two-thirds vote instead of a simple majority in order to block potential GOP amendments.
ACSH’s Jeff Stier’s beef with the health care bill stems from the fact that many people who claimed to be sick from exposure to 9/11 dust either aren’t sick or can’t prove their sickness was related to any exposure. “I have actually read this legislation, which most members of Congress probably have not, and the language of the bill does not require that people seeking health care compensation prove a causal relationship between working at Ground Zero and getting sick.”
While the bill may be doomed for failure due to a procedural quirk rather than on it’s merits, or lack thereof, Stier hopes the ill-advised legislation is defeated either way. After a recent settlement awarding 9/11 rescue workers over $700 million for health care costs, this additional bill is “just a transfer of wealth, not a bill to protect sick workers,” says Stier.