Congress OK’s $4.2b to aid 9/11 responders

The vote was the final piece of business in the lame-duck session. After each chamber voted, lawmakers began to depart Washington for the holidays.

The final bill was a product of a compromise involving Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Republican Senators Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Mike Enzi of Wyoming. New York members of Congress had sought $2 billion more for the overall bill. They accepted the smaller amount in exchange for GOP critics dropping their opposition.

“The Christmas miracle we’ve been looking for has arrived,’’ Schumer and Gillibrand said in a joint statement.

“Every American recognizes the heroism of the 9/11 first responders, but it is not compassionate to help one group while robbing future generation of opportunity,’’ said Coburn, who led a GOP blockade against the bill. “This agreement strikes a fair balance.’’

The bill gained momentum with help from cable television personalities. Among the biggest supporters were Fox News anchor Shepard Smith and comedian and activist Jon Stewart, who championed the bill and lashed its GOP foes on his TV program “The Daily Show.’’

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York praised Congress for working out a bill.

“As we look forward to the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I am encouraged that our elected representatives in Washington came together and stood by those who were there for America in its hour of greatest need,’’ he said.

The compromise was reached after Democrats scheduled a showdown test vote for yesterday afternoon and Republicans countered by threatening to run a 30-hour clock before allowing final Senate and House votes on the bill. That would have required keeping both the Senate and House in session for votes on Christmas Eve.

Backers worried that the bill would face a much tougher fight in the new, more fiscally conservative Congress, which will be seated next month. “Any single senator can hold this up way past Christmas and we know that can kill the bill,’’ Schumer said on MSNBC yesterday.

The law would be paid for with a fee on some foreign firms that get US government procurement contracts. The bill also calls for extending fees on certain firms that rely on certain types of visas.

Researchers have found that people exposed to clouds of pulverized building materials at the Trade Center site have high rates of asthma and sinus problems. Many firefighters also suffered a reduction in lung power.

Doctors aren’t sure, though, exactly how many people are ill, and scientific doubt persists about just how many of the hundreds of illnesses are linked to the Trade Center dust. Doctors still don’t know whether there is a connection between the dust and potentially fatal illnesses.

The legislation is named for James Zadroga, a police detective who died at age 34. His supporters say he died from respiratory disease contracted at ground zero, but New York City’s medical examiner said Zadroga’s lung condition was caused by prescription drug abuse.