Obama supports health bill for Ground Zero responders

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Feal wrote that, to him and his colleagues, the Islamic center is not an issue, but "it is disturbing that you have the time and energy to speak in favor of the mosque, but not on the health crisis caused by the attacks."

Feal wrote that the money the administration budgets yearly for the health concerns of 9/11 responders and survivors is not enough.

"9/11 responders and survivors with lifelong illnesses need guaranteed health care, not a single year's funding," he wrote. "Your budget also will do nothing for the men and women who can't work because of their illnesses, and struggle to pay their mortgages and feed their families."

Feal said today that the White House's statement was in direct response to his published letter.

"I'm optimistic now for passage of the bill," Feal said. "And I applaud the President for his statement. But we need more from him. It's fine that he says he will sign the bill when it comes to his desk, but we need him to actively support the bill so it will be sure of passing. I voted for this man and now I need him to step up and be our leader. We've worked nine years on this. Enough is enough. It's time to get it done."

The legislation is named for James Zadroga, a New York City police detective who worked several weeks at Ground Zero, and is the first 9/11 responder whose death, in 2006, was attributed to illness contracted at the site.

The bill would establish a $11.6 billion fund over 10 years, with roughly a third of that going to cover the health care costs of the victims, and the other two-thirds to compensate them for their losses. Over 20,000 people, according to government figures, have suffered since the event, either from exposure to the toxic dust of pulverized buildings and combusted chemicals, or injuries, or post-traumatic stress, or all three.

 "We applaud the President's statement that he will sign the Zadroga Act, and we hope that he will join us in urging both houses of Congress to pass the bill on a bipartisan basis when we return in September," said U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, both D-NY, two of the bill's sponsors.

"The thousands of responders and survivors who are sick as a result of 9/11 have been suffering for too long with too little help from the federal government, and we have a moral obligation to help them," they said in a joint release.

The bill failed of passage in the House in July, while gathering a majority of votes, because regular House rules were suspended and a two-thirds majority was needed for passage. Knowing they have the votes, Maloney and Nadler plan to try again under regular House rules, which permit longer debates and the possibility of amendments.

Some lawmakers oppose the bill on the grounds that it would benefit New York area hospitals at the expense of taxpayers nationwide. Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, said the rest of the nation should not be paying to help New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of 9/11.

Supporters point out that 9/11 was a national catastrophe, that people from every state helped in the recovery efforts at Ground Zero and that the federal government, in the person of then EPA chief Christine Whitman, lied in saying that the air was safe at the site.