House Will Stay to Pass 9/11 Bill - Senate vote scheduled for tomorrow.

[jefferson_dem]

House Will Stay to Pass 9/11 Bill (Updated)
BY Michael McAuliff

The House will stay in session tomorrow to pass the 9/11 health bill, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) declared this afternoon, removing one more potential obstacle to passing the measure that woudl help ailing first responders.

“My expectation is there is a high likelihood of a vote on 9/11 sometime tomorrow," Hoyer said of the ongoing effort in the Senate to pass the $6.2 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

"As a result, I would be asking all of you to stay tonight and be here tomorrow so that we can convene and do this very, very important business which is not just important to the New Yorkers important to our country," Hoyer said.

"At anytime we may have a catastrophe which people would volunteer and show heroic effort to save lives and to rescue people," he said. But he had a caveat.

"I cannot assert that I think the Senate is going to move it in that time frame. So that is our schedule. And hopefully our business will be concluded tomorrow on the passage of 9/11,” he said.

Still, the commitment takes away some of the incentive to keep blocking the bill in the Senate, because delaying it only means all of Congress will be stuck in Washington longer to pass something that appears now to have sufficient support.

The loudest objections have been raised by Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn, who is threatening to drag things out.

Democratic insiders hope Republicans who have come around to back Zadroga will prevail on their colleagues to get the job done sooner, rather than later.

House leaders had been reluctant to make a commitment earlier in the day, prompting some anger in the 9/11 community.

Update:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says the Senate will start to vote on the Zadroga bill tomorrow.

“After speaking with Leader Reid, it appears that the 9-11 health bill will come up for a key vote in the Senate tomorrow, once the START Treaty is completed," Schumer said. "It will be decision day in the Senate, and we will see once and for all who will keep their promise to never forget the heroes of 9/11.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/12/house-will-stay-to-pass-911-bill-updated.html