A Fallen Hero - Video Inside

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AP Newbreak: Bush's budget proposes adding 9/11 health funds

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...cks-Health.php

The Associated PressPublished: January 30, 2007

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration plans to keep funding health programs for sick ground zero workers, enough to keep the effort alive at least through 2007, New York lawmakers said Tuesday.

New York Rep. Vito Fossella, a Republican, said the administration next week will propose spending at least $25 million (€19.3 million) more to fund a Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and a related effort for New York firefighters.

"It's a breakthrough," said Fossella. "For the first time in the federal budget there will be a down payment to provide for funding for continued treatment and monitoring for 9/11 responders who need our help."

Word of the new money comes a day before Bush is due to speak in New York City about the economy, and sick Sept. 11 workers plan a rally timed to the visit. It is also a week before Bush offers his budget proposal to the U.S. Congress.

New York lawmakers have spent years lobbying for funding to support ground zero workers suffering from health problems. New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat, called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected."

The issue gained new attention last week when a former New York City police officer died of lung problems, more than five years after he worked at ground zero.

Cesar Borja was 52, and died awaiting a lung transplant. His son, Ceasar Borja, Jr., is seeking a personal meeting with Bush in New York. The 21-year-old college student attended Bush's annual State of the Union address to Congress last week — hours after his father's death — to call attention to the issue.

A White House official said Bush is "hopeful" a meeting can be arranged.

The government delivered $75 million (€57.8 million) for Sept. 11 health programs last year, but health advocates had warned that money was due to run out by the summer.

Under the new White House proposal, those programs would remain funded through the end of the year — and their inclusion in the president's budget suggests it may be easier to continue funding through future years.

The Borja case is one of several deaths that have generated increasing public pressure for the government to do more for those who are still sick years after working on the toxic debris pile at the World Trade Center site.

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has called for a $1.9 billion (€1.46 billion) federal effort to provide years of treatment to those sick workers.

Mount Sinai Medical Center, which has screened about 19,000 such workers, released a report last year finding nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems.

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Just so everyone knows, that is...

NOTHING

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Sick 9/11 workers plan rally timed to Bush NYC visit today

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...ONT01/70131005

1/31/2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ceasar Borja Jr. lost his father last week when the former New York City police officer died awaiting a lung transplant, more than five years after he worked at ground zero.

A day after the Bush administration announced that it would propose spending at least $25 million more to fund a Sept. 11-related health care program, Borja, 21, may get a chance to meet with the president to talk about ailing ground zero workers.

"I want the president to know that he has to take care of these people, because many more will die," Borja told the Daily News in Wednesday's edition. "Any sum of money is a help, and I just hope that it continues."

Bush is expected in the city on Wednesday where he will give a speech on the economy, while sick Sept. 11 workers planned a rally timed to his visit.

The administration next week will propose the additional funding of the Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and a related effort for New York firefighters.

White House officials said they would consider providing more money, depending on the findings of a separate government task force that is examining Sept. 11-related health issues.

"We consider this a good starting point," said White House budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan.

The programs had been expected to run out of money by the summer. A grant made last year of $75 million was expected to last until then.

Rep. Vito Fossella, R-Staten Island, called the news "a breakthrough" after years of seeking more help from the government.

"For the first time in the federal budget there will be a down payment to provide for funding for continued treatment and monitoring for Sept. 11 responders who need our help," Fossella said.

The issue of ailing ground zero workers gained new attention just last week when former police officer Cesar Borja, 52, died of lung problems. His son, a college student, attended Bush's annual State of the Union address to Congress last week -- hours after his father's death -- to call attention to the issue.

Borja came as the personal guest of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who said Tuesday she was pleased "the President has agreed to meet with Ceasar Borja Jr. tomorrow and to hear his family's case for funding vitally needed to keep our treatment programs open. ... We cannot allow these critical health care services to dry up."

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding "encouraging," adding in a statement that treatment programs "are working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington."

Fossella said he learned of the additional funding in a Tuesday morning meeting with the head of the White House budget office, Rob Portman. Two other New York Republicans, Peter King, of Long Island, and James Walsh, of Syracuse, also attended the meeting.

The White House often gives lawmakers advance notice of good news contained in the budget proposal, which must still be approved by Congress.

Fossella and Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan have spent years lobbying for Sept. 11 health funding. Maloney, D-N.Y., called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected," including lower Manhattan residents.

The $25 million figure would probably change after the administration gets more details from the hospital and New York City about their patients, and Fossella said the goal was not to hit a specific dollar target but to continue treating those patients.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat whose district includes ground zero, said the $25 million was a "first step forward" in getting the government to respond to the health needs but argued the dollar figure was grossly inadequate.

Under the new White House proposal, those programs would remain funded through the end of the year -- and their inclusion in the president's budget suggests it may be easier to continue funding through future years.

"Obviously, it's going to cost more than $25 million," said King. "But in the course of the last year, they've seen the health problems arising from 9/11, so now the only question is what is the extent of it and how to meet those needs."

The death last week of Officer Borja is one of several fatalities that have generated increasing public pressure for the government to do more for those who are still sick years after working on the toxic debris pile at the World Trade Center site.

Clinton, D-N.Y., has called for a $1.9 billion federal effort to provide years of treatment to those sick workers.

Mount Sinai, which has screened some 19,000 such workers, released a report last year finding nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems.

One of the doctors who authored that study, Dr. Robin Herbert, has said thousands will likely need long-term health care.

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President Meets With Son Of 9/11 First Responder

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index...id=1&aid=66383

January 31, 2007

President George W. Bush was in the city today to deliver a speech on the economy, but he also met with the son of a September 11th, 2001 first responder, who died last week waiting for a lung transplant.

Bush met with Ceasar Borja, Jr., who has been on a crusade in his father's name to get funding for other first responders who have become ill.

During the meeting Borja, Jr. said he asked for the federal government to completely fund any medical treatment for anyone suffering for a 9/11 related illness.

"I expressed how the funding should be expanded, not just for the heroes and heroines that were present there without hesitation, who ran to save, rescue, and ensure a future for all of the lives that they found there."

Borja, Jr., who brought his mother and siblings to the meeting with the president, also credited the residents and merchants of Lower Manhattan for their speedy recovery of the WTC area.

The meeting comes along with word from the White House that it will budget $25 million to help ailing 9/11 workers. The money is being set aside for programs at Mount Sinai Medical Center and for New York City firefighters.

"There is finally an acknowledgement at the federal level that there is a federal responsibility to help those men and women who responded so heroically and volunteered their services after 9/11," said Staten Island Congressman Vito Fossella.

Critics at a rally by the WTC site today say $25 million is hardly enough to treat the looming health care problems.

The White House calls the money a starting point and says it will consider more funding in the future.

Meanwhile, the president gave a State of the Economy speech before a crowd of business and political leaders at Federal Hall this morning. During the address he was very optimistic about the economy. Introduced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bush applauded the city’s recovery after 9/11. He called on Congress to keep taxes low and invest in alternative fuel sources.

Bush also took on the huge salaries and bonuses that some corporate executives received and the outrage that followed. The president said those pay packages should be made public.

“Government should not decide the compensation for America’s corporate executives,” said Bush. “But the salaries and bonuses of CEOs should be based on their success on approving their companies and bringing value to their shareholders.”

The president also revealed that he is allocating $2 billion in his budget to help construct the JFK Lower Manhattan Rail Link something that both city and state officials have been lobbying for quite some time.

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Sick 9/11 workers protest at Ground Zero

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationwo...news-headlines

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 31, 2007, 1:51 PM EST

Sick 9/11 workers and residents gathered near ground zero before President Bush's speech on Wednesday to criticize as inadequate his proposal to spend an additional $25 million to fund a health care program.

About a dozen people rallied near the World Trade Center site about an hour before Bush delivered the economic speech at nearby Federal Hall.

Ceasar Borja Jr., who lost his father, a ground zero worker, last week was originally scheduled to attend the rally. But instead, he was preparing for a meeting with the president.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush planned to meet privately after his speech with Borja; his mother, Eva; brother, Evan; and sister, Nhia.

"First responders who need treatment will get the treatment they need," Snow said earlier Wednesday. "Many are already covered by insurance programs, many through their union; but if there are gaps in that, we're going to do it." Rally participant Mariama James, who lives four blocks from ground zero and has three children with health problems she attributes to Sept. 11, said she spends $480 a month in copays for their allergy, sinusitis and asthma medicines.

"You have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to protect us from those who would do us harm," James said of Bush. "We ask that you protect us from those who did us harm. The $25 million is not enough even for the needs of the workers." The Bush administration next week will propose the additional funding of the Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center and a related effort for New York firefighters.

White House officials said they would consider providing more money, depending on the findings of a separate government task force.

"We consider this a good starting point," White House budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan said Tuesday.

The programs had been expected to run out of money by the summer. A grant made last year of $75 million was expected to last until then.

Protester Marvin Bethea, 47, said doctors have told him that those who responded to ground zero on the first day had their lungs age 12 years.

He said "$25 million is absolutely not enough," pointing out that some legislators, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, have proposed $1.9 billion in additional funds. "That's a big gap." "Bush does not fathom the full picture," agreed Ron Vega, 48, who spent 10 months at ground zero as a construction project manager. "People started dying and now they pay attention. Unless you're dying or dead, no one pays attention." Mount Sinai, which has screened some 19,000 such workers, said last year that nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems. One of the doctors who authored that study, Dr. Robin Herbert, has said thousands will likely need long-term health care.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding "encouraging," adding that treatment programs "are working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington." Reps. Vito Fossella and Carolyn Maloney have spent years lobbying for Sept. 11 health funding. Maloney, D-N.Y., on Tuesday called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected," including lower Manhattan residents.

The $25 million figure would probably change after the administration gets more details from the hospital and New York City about their patients, and Fossella said the goal was not to hit a specific dollar target but to continue treating those patients.

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9/11 Workers: Bush Health Upgrade Plan Inadequate

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/N...Y&pageId=3.3.1

By VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press Writer
Created: Wednesday, 31 Jan 2007, 12:11 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Sick 9/11 workers and residents gathered near ground zero before President Bush's speech on Wednesday to criticize as inadequate his proposal to spend an additional $25 million to fund a health care program.

About a dozen people rallied near the World Trade Center site about an hour before Bush delivered the economic speech at nearby Federal Hall.

Ceasar Borja Jr., who lost his father, a ground zero worker, last week was originally scheduled to attend the rally. But instead, he was preparing for a meeting with the president.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush planned to meet privately after his speech with Borja; his mother, Eva; brother, Evan; and sister, Nhia.

"First responders who need treatment will get the treatment they need," Snow said earlier Wednesday. "Many are already covered by insurance programs, many through their union; but if there are gaps in that, we're going to do it."

Rally participant Mariama James, who lives four blocks from ground zero and has three children with health problems she attributes to Sept. 11, said she spends $480 a month in copays for their allergy, sinusitis and asthma medicines.

"You have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to protect us from those who would do us harm," James said of Bush. "We ask that you protect us from those who did us harm. The $25 million is not enough even for the needs of the workers."

The Bush administration next week will propose the additional funding of the Sept. 11-related health care program at Mount Sinai Medical Center and a related effort for New York firefighters.

White House officials said they would consider providing more money, depending on the findings of a separate government task force.

"We consider this a good starting point," White House budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan said Tuesday.

The programs had been expected to run out of money by the summer. A grant made last year of $75 million was expected to last until then.

Protester Marvin Bethea, 47, said doctors have told him that those who responded to ground zero on the first day had their lungs age 12 years.

He said "$25 million is absolutely not enough," pointing out that some legislators, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, have proposed $1.9 billion in additional funds. "That's a big gap."

"Bush does not fathom the full picture," agreed Ron Vega, 48, who spent 10 months at ground zero as a construction project manager. "People started dying and now they pay attention. Unless you're dying or dead, no one pays attention."

Mount Sinai, which has screened some 19,000 such workers, said last year that nearly seven out of every 10 ground zero responders suffered lung problems. One of the doctors who authored that study, Dr. Robin Herbert, has said thousands will likely need long-term health care.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the funding "encouraging," adding that treatment programs "are working well, but will need vastly more support from Washington."

Reps. Vito Fossella and Carolyn Maloney have spent years lobbying for Sept. 11 health funding. Maloney, D-N.Y., on Tuesday called the move "long overdue," adding that the health programs should treat "all those exposed and affected," including lower Manhattan residents.

The $25 million figure would probably change after the administration gets more details from the hospital and New York City about their patients, and Fossella said the goal was not to hit a specific dollar target but to continue treating those patients.

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Health problems linger for 9/11 workers

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/16631550.htm

RUBÉN ROSARIO
2/7/2007

Nearly a month after his wife was seriously burned in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Greg Manning summoned the courage to visit Ground Zero.

The World Trade Center office executive needed an escort with security clearance. He found one in Lucie Ferrell, a former Augsburg College nursing professor and senior American Red Cross volunteer from the Twin Cities.

"Over the past week, (Ferrell) has spent considerable time at the hospital, coordinating Red Cross assistance with the various patient families,'' Manning writes in "Love, Greg and Lauren'' (Bantam Books, 2002).

The book is an emotionally moving collection of e-mails Manning sent to a network of friends during his wife's painful but inspiring recovery from burns on more than 80 percent of her body.

"(Ferrell) has pointed out that the disaster is larger than anything the organization has experienced, and notes that we are all — patients, families, health care workers and volunteers — writing the rules as we go: how to deal with individual loss and collective loss and how to come with the daily and long-term struggles that so many of us are facing.''

The words were prophetic.

More than five years later, Ferrell is among the thousands of Ground Zero workers and volunteers suffering from long-term health problems as a result of their exposure to toxic chemicals and materials that lingered in the air at the site for months.

Ferrell, who had a mild case of asthma before her volunteer work, has the telltale "World Trade Center cough" that doctors have found in many cases.

She also suffers from stomach ailments that have plagued others as well. She has vocal cord dysfunction, a serious condition that involuntarily closes off the breathing passage.

"It's something to live with,'' says Ferrell, a Mahtomedi resident who worked as a manager at a White Bear Lake coffee shop until health problems forced her to take a leave of absence recently.

Ferrell also is concerned about the welfare of other Ground Zero workers from Minnesota who may not have linked their health problems with their exposure or are not aware of health responses to the exposure.

"I believe there are others out there who may not know,'' says Ferrell.

A study released last fall by New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center found almost 70 percent of 9,500 Ground Zero workers, volunteers and others examined had new or worsened respiratory symptoms such as laryngitis, asthma and vocal cord dysfunction.

More than 800 people from 39 states, including Minnesota, and two Canadian provinces underwent medical screening for Ground Zero-related symptoms at clinics affiliated with the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics.

Of those, eight were screened in Minnesota, says Katherine Kirkland, the association's executive director. The clinics, under a contract first with Mount Sinai and now with the American Red Cross, may pick up exam and treatment costs for certain illnesses if the patients meet a criteria set up by the World Trade Center Medical Screening Program. One criterion is that the patient must have performed certain functions at Ground Zero from Sept 11, 2001, until the end of that year.

"We really would like, if there are people out there, to get the word out about this,'' said Kirkland, adding the bulk of publicity over the post-9/11 health concerns has mostly dealt with the greater New York area.

Ferrell herself was unaware of the clinics performing the services. She came back to the Twin Cities and saw a battery of doctors who may have been clueless about the Ground Zero link. In fact, New York City's Department of Health reportedly did not release any guidelines for diagnosing 9/11-related illnesses until this past summer.

Respiratory experts at the National Jewish Research and Medical Center in Denver made the connection.

Besides medical assistance, officials at the New York State Worker's Compensation Board also are urging those who worked or volunteered at Ground Zero to register for financial compensation before Aug. 14. Again, the board has its own criteria for those who may be eligible. But the registration is valid for those who don't feel ill at all.

"We have learned from the events following the (1999) bombing in Oklahoma City that some victims don't exhibit or display symptoms — particularly on the mental health end — until six years after the event,'' said Jonathan Bennett, director of public affairs at the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. The union advocacy group has monitored government's response to the terrorist attacks and posts a daily news digest of health-related information on its Web site.

"Ferrell estimates her medical bills approach $100,000, most of it on her dime because she did not have health insurance after she returned. She is now in danger of losing her home. But still, she has no regrets.

"I would do it all over again," she says. "It was without a doubt a life-affirming experience. I just hope that people out there get the help they need.''

Rubén Rosario can be reached at rrosario@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5454.

More information: To learn about Ground Zero benefits eligibility, contact the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics at 888-347-2632 or the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program at 888-702-0630.

Online: The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health posts a news digest of 9/11-related issues at www.nycosh.org.

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9/11 responder to President: We need more



http://www.liherald.com/site/news.cf...d=477736&rfi=6

By Brian Zanzonico
February 08, 2007

Vito Valenti wants to be the voice of ill 9/11 responders, and he wants the President to hear him.

When Vito Valenti walked into Gleason Funeral Home in Bayside for the funeral of NYPD officer Ceasar Borja, oxygen tank in tow, most of the wet eyes turned to him.

Most of the people there knew about Valenti, he said. Knew that he, like Borja, worked at ground zero after the attacks of 9/11. They also knew that pulmonary fibrosis, which killed Borja, was devastating Valenti's lungs.

"It was open casket, and I was sitting there looking at Ceasar, and for a second, I saw myself lying in the casket," Valenti said. "I got up and had to walk to the back."

Borja's 21-year-old son, Cesar, campaigned during his father's last days for the White House to allocate more money to treat ground zero workers who have gotten ill from breathing in the toxic dust that settled after the two towers fell. Borja was a guest of Sen. Hillary Clinton at Bush's State of the Union address in Washington, and later met with the president when he visited New York. A day before their meeting, Bush announced he will propose spending at least $25 million more to fund a health care program for 9/11 responders at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan and a separate program for New York firefighters.

Valenti said $25 million would be a good start, but that much more is needed to care for the ailing workers who spent extended periods of time at ground zero.

"Is it enough? No, I don't think it's enough," Valenti said last week, noting that days before Bush's announcement, Clinton, who was at the Elmont American Legion hall stumping for Democratic candidate for state Senate Craig Johnson, asked Bush for $1.9 billion. "I've been told that a double lung transplant costs maybe three or four million dollars, and that's one person."

Valenti's lungs were severely damaged by the toxins he inhaled while working at ground zero following the 9/11 attacks, and as a result he needs a double lung transplant. Forced to quit his job as a grievance representative for Local 372, which represents Board of Education employees, because of the illness, Valenti also had to give up his health benefits. He has lived on donated oxygen for months because the deadline for reporting workers' compensation claims expired long before he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. Without a double lung transplant, pulmonary fibrosis sufferers usually die within five or six years.

His health insurance ran out before he completed a series of tests that would have put him on the national waiting list for a lung transplant. But a judge ruled on Dec. 20, 2006, that Valenti is entitled to workers' compensation, which will cover medical expenses associated with his pulmonary fibrosis and allow him to see doctors and finally get his name on the transplant list. He also receives $400 a week in back pay from August 2005.

John Feal, Valenti's friend and the founder of the Feal Good Foundation, an advocacy group for 9/11 first responders suffering from ground zero-related illnesses, called the workers' compensation ruling encouraging, but added that more must be done to help those who have gotten sick. "Individually, that's great," said Feal, a demolition supervisor who lost part of his foot when it was crushed by an eight-ton beam during the recovery effort at ground zero. "What stinks is that so many others in his position that have 9/11 illnesses still have problems getting [their compensation], or may never get theirs. Vito won a battle, but it's still a long war."

Valenti said there are many others like him, and to draw attention to their plight, he wants to be the living, breathing symbol of the 9/11 responders who have gotten ill.

"I want to be the voice," he said. "I want to go to the president and say 'enough is enough, we've lost too many lives.'"

At Borja's wake, as Valenti offered condolences to the late policeman's family, his wife grabbed him.

"Cesar's mom said, Are you Vito? She burst out crying and held me," Valenti said.

"My heart goes out to you. I see you with the oxygen tank and I think of my husband. God bless you."

Comments about this story? FSeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 240.

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Coroner: Not Sure If 9/11 Toxins Killed Borja

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/N...Y&pageId=3.2.1

Last Edited: Saturday, 10 Feb 2007, 9:37 PM EST
Created: Saturday, 10 Feb 2007, 9:37 PM EST

MyFoxNY.com -- New York City's chief medical examiner found that a rare lung disease killed retired cop and 9/11 first responder Cesar Borja.

However, he can't exactly say what caused Borja's illness.

His family believes toxic air at Ground Zero is to blame. Borja was among the first responders who worked at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Borja's death inspired President Bush to earmark $25 million to help pay medical expenses for first responders.

Cesar Borja died Jan. 23. His son, Ceasar Jr., attended the president's State of the Union address with Sen. Hillary Clinton.