Exclusive footage: 9/11 responders demand justice

August 16, 2010

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August 06, 2010
RTAmerica

RT filmed this emotional footage of 9/11 first responders pouring their hearts out at a speech just blocks away from where the twin towers fell. The rally was in response to Congress defeating a federal bill that would have provided billions of dollars in health care for those sickened by toxins released by the collapse of the World Trade Center towers Sept. 11, 2001.

Editor’s Note: Politicians of all stripes used the first responders for photo ops and political pandering. They repeatedly told the public the importance of standing by America’s first responders:“As the tragic deaths of the 343 members of the New York Fire Department on 9/11 make plain, America’s first responders are on the front line of this war,” McCain said.

“Whatever happened to supporting our nation’s heroes?” the video asks before dissolving into a scene of President George Bush at ground zero.

They passed symbolic legislation to honor first reponders:

That the House of Representatives supports first responders in the United States in their efforts to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, and affirms the goals and ideals of National First Responder Appreciation Day to honor and celebrate the contributions and sacrifices made by all first responders in the United States.

And yet, first responders have had to fight for medical help for more than a decade:

Many of the rescue and recovery workers who labored at Ground Zero have been plagued by a metastasizing medical crisis, aggravated by chronic political failure.