Action needed:

Please contact your Representative immediately - Please note that this action has an associated deadline of Noon EST on Wednesday.

Please also help by forwarding this action alert everywhere, quickly.

Reps. Maloney, Nadler, King, and McMahon will likely introduce the "9/11 Health and Compensation Act" tomorrow afternoon. Below is a letter circulated by Rep. Maloney today in her effort to get other members of the House to co-sponsor this bill. This bill was introduced as HR 7174 in the last session of Congress, often referred to as "the Zadroga bill" after James Zadroga, a first responder who died as a result of his service.)

Please call your Representative, and tell them that you support this bill and want him/her to co-sponsor. If they are not familiar with the bill, or the need for it, Rep. Maloney has valuable information available at her website, http://maloney.house.gov.

You can find contact info for your Representative here. We encourage you to leave a message at their DC and local office tonight, send an email now, and follow up with a call to their offices in the morning, in order to get a response.

If it would be helpful, you might wish to mention to your Rep that President Obama has said he backs this bill.

MORE INFORMATION:

Today Rep. Maloney sent this letter to all the Representatives asking for cosponsorship:

February 3, 2009

Remember the Heroes of 9/11
Be an original cosponsor of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act
**Deadline at noon tomorrow**

Dear Colleague:

As we begin the 111th Congress, we invite you to become an original cosponsor of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. This legislation would provide medical care and compensation for those who are sick with World Trade Center illnesses, including first responders who came to New York from every state and nearly all Congressional districts in the nation.

The 9/11 Health and Compensation Act would:

• Establish a federal health and compensation program for 9/11 responders and community members,
• Provide ongoing medical care for 9/11 health conditions to approximately 15,000 additional WTC responders and 15,000 additional WTC community members, for a total of 55,000 responders and 17,500 community members.
• Require a matching contribution from the City of New York for the health program,
• Reopen the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) to provide compensation for those sickened by 9/11 exposure and to address the over 10,000 pending lawsuits brought by sick 9/11 responders, and
• Limit the liability in litigation for New York City and the contractors to the amounts available under the Captive Insurance Fund and their existing liability limits and insurance.

With a new Congress and a new administration, we must not forget the heroes of 9/11. To become an original cosponsor of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in the 111th Congress, please contact Anna Cielinski (Maloney) at 5-7944, Jillian Youngblood (Nadler) at 5-5635, Alexandra Valenti (P. King) at 5-7896, or Kathryn DiBitetto (McMahon) at 5-3371. The deadline is tomorrow, February 4, at noon.

Sincerely,

/s/
CAROLYN B. MALONEY
Member of Congress

/s/
JERROLD NADLER
Member of Congress

/s/
PETER T. KING
Member of Congress

/s/
MICHAEL E. McMAHON
Member of Congress

Anna Cielinski
Legislative Assistant
Office of Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-14)
2332 Rayburn House Office Building
202-225-7944 (phone)
202-225-7944 (fax)
anna.cielinski [at] mail.house.gov

Rep. Maloney's House website states:

The serious health impacts of the 9/11 disaster were both immediate and long-term, affecting thousands of Ground Zero responders and downtown residents and office workers, as well as children in the City