After years of avoiding the undeniable
link between illness and exposure to the toxic air and dust at Ground Zero,
why has Mayor Bloomberg suddenly acknowledged what he has previously questioned?
In
July, 2006, “… Bloomberg has refused, thus far, to acknowledge that
the deaths of at least four first responders – and the illnesses of thousands
more – were directly related to their toiling in The Pit.” In
August, 2006, “Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, speaking at a news conference
at City Hall yesterday, questioned the conclusiveness of the study, saying that
statistics could suggest a connection between events, but not prove a direct
link.” “I don’t believe that you can say specifically a particular
problem came from this particular event,” he said. But on Wednesday,
March 21, 2007, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee,
Mayor Bloomberg asked Congress to reopen the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to
cover the cost of monitoring and treatment of 9/11 health problems. The long
delay in adequately
funding monitoring programs and health care costs still seems far from being
resolved. When it comes time to serve their constituent’s interests, city, state
and federal politicians are quick with words of support but slow to take action.