Mr. KUCINICH. Good afternoon and good afternoon to the members of the subcommittee. I want to thank the witnesses here today. I know this is an emotional topic for many of them. It has been 3 years since the horrific loss our Nation suffered on September 11. Yet, while our Nation still grieves and mourns the families, friends and heroes we lost in that tragedy, hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions of New Yorkers carry an even more salient reminder, the lingering physical and mental wounds which persist to this day, but we cannot cure those wounds when we still know little about what caused them. We know intuitively that rescuers, residents, workers and people in the vicinity of the World Trade Center breathed in dust, smoke, asbestos and toxic substances that day and for many days after the attack. We know that the psychological impact of that day would haunt those closest to the scene and mental health care would be needed. Yet, the questions we ask in Congress today are simple but in some cases they are still not answerable 3 years later. Who became ill or may still be ill and doesn't know it, what harmful substances were inhaled and what toxic amounts, are these people receiving treatment, are we working together at all levels, Federal, State and local to provide the care and followup needed? The picture that is slowly developing, and that has been confirmed by the work of GAO to be presented today, is of woefully inadequate funding and neglect in the medical care of those affected. According to GAO, thousands of New York rescue and recovery workers have not yet been screened. Many of them have not received the workers compensation they are due and many of them do not have any medical insurance at all. GAO also notes that hundreds of New York firefighters have been forced to give up their livelihood, been placed on medical leave and had to end their careers due to lingering respiratory illnesses. There is even a new condition affecting hundreds of these firefighters coined the "World Trade Center Cough" which is characterized by an acute, persistent cough with severe respiratory problems. Much more needs to be found out and be done. First of all, we need to know how widespread the problem is. There is no longer any monitoring of New York State employees as the program has been discontinued. The World Trade Center Health Registry Program to screen civilians closed its enrollment as of September 1, though only 55,000 out of an estimated 400,000 affected civilians were screened. Rescue and recovery workers have been slow to register and be screened due to lack of treatment options, boundary disputes, interagency disputes and other delays. We need to act and act in unison for the long term. There is no plan to fund long term medical research into September 11 illnesses. We do not know what if any debilitating conditions may require years to appear such as cancer will end up being prevalent. Where the monitoring programs were designed to last 25 years, they are currently only funded for 5. Private and charitable donations are drying up and the current administration has been slow to act. For example, Congress allocated $90 million for the September 11 health screenings last year but this money was only awarded to New York City medical institutions this spring. Of the $175 million appropriated by Congress for the New York State Workers Compensation Board, millions have been spent on processing claims and preparing for future terrorist attacks but almost none has gone to actual reimbursement to the Uninsured Employer Fund, established for worker and volunteer benefits. Moreover, not a single penny has gone directly for treatment of these injuries. If we can raise and dispense over $500 million in financial assistance to 100,000 for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, then we can do the same for those still suffering physically and mentally today. No amount of money can alleviate the loss and pain many shared that day but we all need to give a better effort. I want to thank both Chairman Shays and Mrs. Maloney for their persistent oversight efforts to keep the management of and funding of these programs in the spotlight. This cannot and must not be a partisan issue, it should not be a matter of misinformation or red tape. It would be unconscionable to abandon our responsibility to care for each and every one of those victims today and into the future. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [The prepared statement of Hon. Dennis J. Kucinich follows:] Statement of Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Hearing on "Assessing September 11th Health Effects" September 8, 2004 Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Subcommittee. I want to sincerely thank all of the witnesses here today, as I know this is an emotional topic for many of them. It's been three years since the horrific loss our nation suffered on September 11. Yet, while our nation still grieves, and mourns the family, friends, and heroes we lost in that tragedy, hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions of New Yorkers carry an even more salient reminder - the lingering physical and mental wounds which persist to this day. But we cannot cure those wounds when we still know little about what caused them. We know intuitively that rescuers, residents, workers, and people in the vicinity of the World Trade Center breathed in dust, smoke, asbestos, and toxic substances that day, and for many days after the attack. We know that the psychological impact of that day would haunt those closest to the scene, and mental health care would be needed. Yet, the questions we in Congress ask today are simple, but still unanswerable, three years later. Who became ill, or may still be ill and doesn't know it? What harmful substances were inhaled and in what toxic amounts? Are these people receiving treatment? Are we working together at all levels - federal, state, and local, to provide the care and follow-up needed? The picture that is slowly developing, and that has been confirmed by the work of GAO to be presented today, is of woefully inadequate funding and neglect in the medical care for those affected. According to GAO, thousands of New York rescue and recovery workers have not yet been screened. Many of them have not received the workmen's compensation they are due, and many of them do not have any medical insurance at all. GAO also notes that hundreds of New York firefighters have been forced to give up their livelihood, placed on medical leave, and had to end their careers due to lingering respiratory illnesses. There is even a new condition affecting hundreds of these men, coined "World Trade Center cough," which is characterized by an acute, persistent cough with severe respiratory problems. Much more needs to be found out and to be done. First of all, we need to know how widespread the problem is. There is no longer any monitoring of New York State employees as the program has been discontinued. The WTC Health Registry program to screen civilians closed its enrollment as of September 1, though only 55,000 out of an estimated 400,000 affected civilians were screened. Rescue and recovery workers have been slow to register and to be screened due to the lack of treatment options, boundary disputes, inter-agency disputes, and other delays. We can't drag our feet any longer. We need to act, and to act in unison, for the long term. There is no plan to fund long-term medical research into 9/11 illnesses. |