Maloney, Fossella Demand 9/11 Health Czar Be Appointed
BY JOHN TOSCANO

www.house.gov/fossella Rep. Fossella with Rep. Maloney (right) announce their plea for a Federal 911 Health Czar at Ground Zero.

Citing the recent deaths of three 9/11 responders, Congressmembers Carolyn Maloney and Vito Fossella continued their bipartisan push for better health treatment for those who worked at the Ground Zero site last week as they demanded that President George W. Bush appoint a seasoned health professional as 9/11 health czar.

The call from Maloney, a Democrat from Manhattan, and Fossella, a Staten Island Republican, came, Maloney said, “in the middle of a gathering health crisis.”

The two lawmakers said that at present, thousands of first responders, federal employees and Lower Manhattan residents and workers are suffering from health problems likely caused by exposure to toxins at or near the World Trade Center site.

The recent deaths of several 9/11 responders, reportedly due to injuries or illnesses sustained at Ground Zero, demonstrate the immediate need for a coordinated federal response to the 9/11 health crisis.

The health czar, they said, would be responsible for mounting a coordinated response to the health impacts which emerged from the 9/11 attacks and cleanup.

Maloney declared: “We are in the middle of a gathering health crisis. As the 9/11 responders worked on the pile, they were exposed to a poisonous cocktail of asbestos, lead, mercury and pulverized glass.

“However, it seems like our government has abandoned the Ground Zero responders just when they need help the most. We must now live up to our promise to the heroes of 9/11. Their lives very much may depend on what we do.”

Outlining the health czar’s duties, Fossella said the official would be directly responsible and accountable for the full range of the federal government response. He emphasized, “A comprehensive screening, monitoring and treatment program is essential to protecting the health of 9/11 responders. The recent deaths of several rescue workers underscore the need for enhancing current efforts and appointing one person to oversee the entire initiative.

“The long-term impacts of 9/11 will remain unclear for many years, making it all the more important that we have a fully coordinated effort tracking the health and well being of the responders. We also need to ensure that treatment is available to those who are sick or injured today as well as workers who fall ill in the future. With $125 million in federal funding for New York City recently restored, a 9/11 Health Czar will be best positioned to meet the extraordinary challenges confronting the sick and injured.”

In a letter to federal Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt which outlined their proposal and was signed by the state’s two senators, Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Maloney and Fossella identified the three who recently died as EMT Timothy Keller, 41, died last June; Felix Hernandez, 31, who died last October and NYPD Detective James Zadroza, 34, who died earlier in January.

Also at the press conference where Maloney and Fossella announced their proposal was Tom Hart of the Mount Sinai Ground Zero screening program advisory committee.

Hart stated, “We are calling on this country’s leadership to help stand and deliver on our promise to assist these workers in their time of need.”

Dr. Jacqueline Moline, medical corps director of the WTC Medical Monitoring Program, said that in the past three years thousands of 9/11 responders had been screened and many have persistent WTCrelated health problems.

Moline added, “The need for ongoing medical monitoring and medical treatment now and for the foreseeable future, is critical to assessing and assisting these responders. “Many have been treated already,” she said, “but thousands more are estimated to need medical care today.”