Dear Friends, Supporters and Fellow First Responders:
As most of you are aware, the past twenty-four hours have been extremely chaotic
in regards to the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. I, along with
fellow FealGood Foundation board members, have worked with various union leaders
to keep the pressure on our elected officials. As of approximately 5:30 today
our bill was moved into the “Rules Committee” of the United States
House of Representatives and prepared for full House vote. While a modest victory,
this should be considered a step forward to our ultimate goal. However, to our
great displeasure, a date for such a vote has not yet been announced. This is
unacceptable and over the next twenty-four hours we will continue to place additional
pressure on leadership to give us the date we have waited nine years for.
Make no mistake, all involved in this struggle consider it an insult of the
highest degree that we are forced to continue to lobby House leaders to merely
place this bill on calendar. Despite this, we have been advised that the bill
will be given a date for vote tomorrow, September 22, 2010. While promises to
this fragile community have been made and broken so many times that I do not
expect you to believe this one, we must respect the leadership our New York
Congressional Delegation has provided and rely on them to ensure that this promise
is kept. Tomorrow, the 9/11 community expects to be able to celebrate its victory
at the same time Democratic leaders from around the country converge on New
York for political appearances and fundraising.
The fight has not ended my friends and we will not hault our efforts on behalf
of each and every one of you until the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation
Bill is voted on by Congress in a full “rules vote.” While we place
our faith in the leadership of our elected officials tomorrow, we cannot do
so blindly. Over the next day we will see whose word is worth relying on and
who issues empty promises.
I thank you all for your continued patience, but most of all for your continued
perseverance. It is the collective “strength of character” of the
9/11 community that will get this bill passed and each of you are its backbone.
God bless you and God bless America.
“Any Nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure”
— Abraham Lincoln
Peace & Love
John Feal
Founder & President
www.fealgoodfoundation.com
631 724 3320-office
516 901 7427-mobile
9/11 Responder-injured
Kidney Donor
NYS Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for Civilians Above &
Beyond