Senate Dems Think They Can Pass $6 Billion 9/11 Health Bill

Gillibrand, Schumer: New Momentum For 9/11 Health Bill
WASHINGTON, DC— Today, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) announced they have made alterations to an important health bill for 9/11 First Responders—including trimming the bill’s Price Tag by $1.2 billion—in a move that is expected to clear the way for final passage of the measure before the end of this year. The senators said that they have received a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to hold a vote on the bill this week...

9/11 health bill 'Christmas miracle'?
Published: Dec. 20, 2010 at 4:15 AM WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A less-costly Healthcare Bill for ill Ground Zero workers should get enough Republican support to pass the lame-duck U.S. Congress, the bill's backers said. "We are on the verge of a Christmas miracle,'' said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Gillibrand and fellow New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said the new version of the bill -- with a $6.2 billion Price Tag over 10 years, instead of $7.4 billion, and using an Excise Tax t...

Some Republicans to support 9/11 Health Bill?
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) seems confident she has found a way to get the Zadroga bill passed after it died last week. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is already on board, and Snowe & Collins of Maine, as well as Murkowski of Alaska are believed to be votes as well. There is a fair amount of Fox News "fair and balanced" in this ABC report but at least the Mainstream Media is bothering to mention the root causes of this failure, perhaps shamed into it by Jon Stewart. Senate Republicans last week de...

Democrat Murkowski Must Go
Senator Lisa Murkowski is a Democrat, despite what she may have told her constituents over the past several years, and it’s time for her to leave the Republican party.   She has become THE most reliable Democrat supporter of Legislation in the entire United States Senate. “One of President Obama’s biggest supporters in the Senate in the past week is not even a member of his own party: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Murkowski supported the president’s position on...

9/11 First Responders Bill May Move Ahead This Week
What is this? Firefighters make their way through the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. Firefighters make their way through the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. While the new START Treaty, the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the tax package put together by President Obama and Congressional Republicans have been getting most of the attention, another piece of important Legislation has been on the Senate's agenda. And there's word ...

Senate Democrats likely to pass new 9/11 health bill
Stumble This! Legislation to improve Health Care services to Rescue Workers who became ill as a result of breathing dangerous fumes and dust at the World Trade Center may receive a second chance after being blocked by Senate Republicans last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intends to bring up a scaled-down version of the 9/11 First Responders health bill for another vote during the lame-duck session. The bill is expected after the Senate votes on the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty...

By pushing for the 9/11 first responders health bill, Jon Stewart steps onto the political playing field.
By Christopher BeamPosted Monday, Dec. 20, 2010, at 7:09 PM ET Jon StewartIn the never-ending debate about whether Jon Stewart is a comedian with opinions or an Activist who happens to make jokes, he's always argued for the former. When Tucker Carlson accused Stewart of liberal hackery on Crossfire in 2004, Stewart famously played The Joker card. "You're on CNN," he said. "The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls." It's true—Stewart leans left, but the jokes always ...

U.S. senators hope to pass 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the U.S. Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said Sunday. “We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week,” said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand outlined for reporters some c...

Perkins rips GOPers, Gaga for DADT
The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins isn't mincing words about what he believes the impact of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell will be in a war zone. And he's taking direct aim at the eight Republicans who voted in favor of the Repeal, three who are up for Reelection in 2012. "Are Republicans Scott Brown, Richard Burr, Susan Collins, John Ensign, Mark Kirk, Lisa Murkowski, Olympia Snowe, and George Voinovich prepared to accept the responsibility for losing those 264,600 Soldiers--an...

DADT Cloture Vote Passes
Talking Points Memo reports: The Senate took a big step toward ending the Military’s ban on Openly Gay servicemembers today. By a vote of 63 to 33, the Senate voted to end debate on a bill repealing the Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, opening the door for a final Senate vote on the standalone Repeal bill passed by the House Tuesday. That means a simple majority of 51 Senators can now bring the legislative fight on repealing DADT to an end. That vote is expected...

Pols see hope for 9/11 bill
WASHINGTON -- The long-stalled 9/11 health bill is headed for a Senate vote as soon as tomorrow after supporters shaved $1.2 billion from its Price Tag to satisfy skeptical Republicans, New York lawmakers said yesterday. "I believe we now have more than enough votes to pass this Legislation," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a chief champion of the measure, said at a Capitol Press Conference. Republicans, who blocked the bill with a Filibuster earlier this month, had criticized the cost and f...

A Handful of Republicans Have Finally Been Convinced to Help Sick Ground Zero Workers
Photo: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images Don't look now, but the Democrats are starting to rack up a pretty sizable number of successes in what was at one time expected to be a quiet and largely uneventful lame-duck session. There was the tax-cut deal, which included an extension of Unemployment Benefits, then the Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and soon, it appears, even the long-stalled James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. And yes, it is strange that guaranteeing medical assistance f...

Kirsten Gillibrand: I Think We Have The Votes For Zadroga 9/11 Bill
Calling the passage of the $7.4 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act "a question of right versus wrong," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she thinks there are enough Republican votes to push the bill through. "I think we have them. I have been talking to about a dozen Republican senators over the last year and I have a very strong feeling they are going to support this bill. It's the right thing to do. This is the clearest example of what is right versus what is wrong that I have...

Senate Passes DADT Repeal, Sending Bill To Obama For His Signature
Moments ago, by a 65-31 vote, the Senate acted to Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the policy banning gays from openly serving in the Military. The same six GOP senators who broke with their party during the Cloture vote earlier today also voted for repeal: Sens. Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Scott Brown, Lisa Murkowski, George Voinovich, and Mark Kirk. Two more Republicans — John Ensign and Richard Burr — joined with Democrats in final passage. Earlier this week, the House...

Senators see chance for passing 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand outlined for ...

Senators see chance for passing 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON | Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:08am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirste...

Senators still see chance for 9/11 health bill
A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. “We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week,” said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand outlined for reporters some changes they w...

Senators See Chance For Passing 9 / 11 Health Bill
The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to ...

NY Lawmakers Hope To Pass 9/11 Bill During Lame Duck
NEW YORK (CBS 2) — The Senate is expected to begin debating the 9/11 health bill once more this week, the last week of the session, but as Kathryn Brown reports, New York lawmakers said this time they think they’ll succeed. “We believe we’ve secured enough Republican votes to prevail,” Senator Chuck Schumer said. “America will be watching very closely on how the senate votes on something that goes fundamentally to the issue of who we are as Americans and wheth...

Senators see chance for passing 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand outlined for reporters some cha...

Senators see chance for passing 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON | Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:08am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirste...

Senators see chance for passing 9/11 health bill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A retooled bill providing medical care for Firefighters and other emergency responders to the September 11, 2001 attacks could be resurrected soon in the Senate, a few weeks after Republicans blocked the measure, backers said on Sunday. "We believe we are on a path to victory by the end of this week," said Senator Charles Schumer. But he was quick to add that unexpected obstacles could arise. He and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand outlined for reporters some cha...

Gillibrand Joined By Maloney, 9/11 First Responders, Workers, Families Of Fallen Heroes, Lower Manhattan Residents Announce First-Ever Senate Hearing On James Zadroga 9/11 Health And Compensation Act This Month
New York, NY – On the heels of a key House panel’s passage last month of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) stood at Ground Zero today with Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Councilwoman Margaret Chin (D-Manhattan), 9/11 First Responders, workers, families who lost loved ones on 9/11 and Lower Manhattan residents to announce that on Tuesday, June 29th, the U.S. Senate will hold its first-ever hearing on the James Zadroga 9/...

Senators say WTC health bill compromise reached; Bloomberg makes final push
Senate leaders Sunday said that they believe they have reached a Compromise to pass the James Zadroga September 11 Health and Compensation Act. A vote in the United States Senate was blocked last week after Republicans expressed concerns on the funding source for the bill that would provide health benefits to individuals who suffered long term Health Problems after working to save lives in the wake of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks, which had already passed the United States House of Represe...

Senate votes to end militarys gay ban
The US Senate voted to Repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the Military, marking the end of a Civil Rights battle that some gay Activists have compared to the Desegregation of the military after the second world war. Lawmakers passed the Repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, the 17-year-old policy that was implemented by former President Bill Clinton and barred Gays in the Military from discussing their Sexual Orientation, by a vote of 65 to 31. The measure won the support of eight