A provision in a new draft of the 9/11 healthcare bill will force the FBI to investigate tens of thousands of cops, firefighters, construction workers and others for ties to terrorism by comparing names to those on the Terrorism Watch List.
Survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack who risked their lives to help others and today face debilitating health problems are not being accused of terrorism themselves.The new bill would require anyone interested in receiving medical care under the new law be screened. Those who refuse will not be allowed to receive care. Jim Ryder, the director of political affairs at the Feal Good Foundation in New York said this is unnecessary and wrong. “These are first responders. These are the people that ran into the buildings when everybody else was running out with no regard of their own safety but for the needs of this city, this state and this country,” he said. The people who served as heroes on 9/11 and in the days following need aid, not accusations of being complicit on terrorism. “It’s a stressful thing, it’s upsetting. They think they aren’t going to be compensated, they think their government thinks they are terrorists,” said Ryder.Many first responders have encountered diseases that remain undiagnosed and as such have been unable to receive healthcare and treatment. Most cannot afford the coverage and are unable to make up the costs of other bills for food, rent and mortgages as they try and pay to receive medical care.