NJ lawmakers begin push to renew assistance for 9/11 victims

The push is on to renew a program that studies, treats and compensates 9/11 first responders and survivors who have fallen ill because of the conditions they worked in following the attacks.

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act has been providing those victims with health care and compensation, but unless Congress renews the act, it will expire next October. New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone joins the state's two U.S Senators in supporting the act's reauthorization, named after NYPD officer James Zadroga, who died of a respiratory disease after working at Ground Zero. He was 34 years old.

"The research continues to go on that shows more and more of these disorders that are very unique to 9/11," Pallone said. "There is a clinic, one of the clinics - most of them are in New York - but there is one in New Jersey at Rutgers in Piscataway."

The congressman said the problem with the disorders that people are getting, particularly those who were first responders or survivors at 9/11, is as they get older, more and more are coming down with health problems such as rare types of cancer. He says if the clinics and the assistance for victims get shut down and people had seek treatment at regular hospitals, these victims may not find doctors who can deal with the problems that they have.

"We have 4,000 to 5,000 New Jerseyans taking advantage of this program," Pallone said.

He said the act should not only be renewed, but made permanent. And although there are 11 months left before it needs renewing, Pallone said he'd rather not wait until the last minute.

"We do not want to wait until the last minute, so we are trying to do something by the end of this year, in the next month," Pallone said.

He says anyone who wants to show their support for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act can contact their elected officials in New Jersey.

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5.