Vito Fossella: “I yield myself 2 minutes. First, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula) for not only the great work…”

“I yield myself 2 minutes. First, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula) for not only the great work he does but also entertaining this, allowing us to submit this amendment and engaging in a colloquy. We all know that September 11, 2001, was many things. It was the worst attack in our country's history. It was a devastating loss. Almost 3,000 individuals lost their lives. We are still recovering from the ravages of what happened on that day; and after that, bringing America together, Congress, along with the President of the United States, committed itself to New York. This has been appreciated. But sadly, what has happened is for many people who rushed into Ground Zero selflessly, not thinking of themselves or their well-being, in an effort to rescue others who could have been victim to that dreadful attack, they became the heroes of our time. What has happened is many of those individuals who were injured immediately have been dealt with, whether it is worker's compensation or providing for their health care; but there is that segment of the population, those heroes, thousands of them perhaps, who rushed into Ground Zero who are now discovering the health effects of having to give almost their lives to rescue others. We also know that it could be weeks, months, or years before some of these side effects show up, perhaps a respiratory problem, perhaps leg or arm injuries, that will only get worse over time.…”