File #: Res 0625-2006    Version: * Name: Congress to pass “The 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act” (H.R. 6046).
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Health
On agenda: 11/29/2006
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to pass “The 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act” (H.R. 6046), which would extend health care benefits to all affected individuals on the 9/11 disaster in an effective, easy-to-access manner.
Sponsors: Alan J. Gerson, Gale A. Brewer, Inez E. Dickens, Lewis A. Fidler, Helen D. Foster, Vincent J. Gentile, Sara M. Gonzalez, Letitia James, G. Oliver Koppell, Darlene Mealy, Rosie Mendez, Annabel Palma, Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., James Sanders, Jr., Helen Sears, James Vacca, Albert Vann, David I. Weprin, Thomas White, Jr., Melissa Mark-Viverito
Council Member Sponsors: 20

Res. No. 625

 

Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to pass “The 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act” (H.R. 6046), which would extend health care benefits to all affected individuals on the 9/11 disaster in an effective, easy-to-access manner.

 

By Council Members Gerson, Brewer, Dickens, Fidler, Foster, Gentile, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Mealy, Mendez, Palma, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Sears, Vacca, Vann, Weprin, White Jr. and Mark-Viverito

 

                     Whereas, The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 was, in the words of a 2004 report in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, “the largest acute environmental disaster that has ever befallen New York City; and

                     Whereas, The current system of medical care has not appropriately addressed the needs of many workers, volunteers and residents near to and around the 9/11 site who have suffered serious health problems due to the events of 9/11, and is in general a frustrating and difficult-to-navigate system; and

                     Whereas, A recent study from Mount Sinai released in September 2006, the largest health study to date, found that nearly 70 percent of 9,500 World Trade Center responders had new or substantially worsened respiratory problems while or after working at Ground Zero; and

Whereas, Forty percent of the Mount Sinai study participants do not have health insurance, and will therefore not receive proper medical care for serious health conditions and potentially long-term illnesses; and

Whereas, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Senator Hillary Clinton, the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, labor representatives, environmental groups, community activists and local elected officials have repeatedly called for action regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s inadequate testing and cleanup programs which has caused many buildings within the 9/11 plume of contamination to remain toxic and a danger to public health, and which will continue to adversely affect health and safety and increase the number of persons who require medical care; and

Whereas, Congressman Nadler has been a tireless advocate for the New Yorkers whose health has been affected by the events of 9/11, taking the Environmental Protection Agency to task for their misinformation immediately after the attacks and their failure to take adequate steps to contain toxins following the attacks; and

                     Whereas, The 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act (H.R. 6046), introduced by Congressman Nadler, would make medical treatment available to all those who were exposed to hazardous substances released by the 9/11 disaster and suffered a 9/11 disaster-related health condition, including through the provision of a state-of-the-art health care facility in lower Manhattan; and

                     Whereas, Under the 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act, there would be no late enrollment penalty, ensuring that victims would not be cut off from the program after a certain period of time; and  

Whereas, The 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act would allow victims to be absorbed into the Medicare framework and choose their own doctors and specialists in an environment that is supportive and understanding of their ailments; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to pass “The 9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act” (H.R.6046), which would extend health care benefits to all affected individuals on the 9/11 disaster in an effective, easy-to-access manner.

 

EC

LS# 1810

11/9/06, 4:24 pm