I want to thank Mr. Collins, Mr. Naylor for putting this together, but as I sit here today, I can't help but think
What an incredible metaphor
this room is
for the entire process that
getting health care and benefits for
911 first responders has come to.
Behind me
a filled room of 911 first responders
and in front of me
a nearly empty Congress.
Sick and dying they brought themselves down here to speak to no one.
It's shameful.
It's an embarrassment to the country and it is a stain on this institution
and you should be ashamed of yourselves for those that aren't here, but you won't be
because accountability doesn't appear to be something that occurs in this chamber.
We don't want to be here.
Louis doesn't want to be here, none of these people want to be here.
But they are and they're not here for themselves - they're here to continue fighting...
...for what's right.
Lou's gonna go back for a 69th chemo
the great Ray Pfeifer would come down here,
his body riddled with cancer and pain, where he couldn't walk
and the disrespect
shown to him and to the other lobbyists on this bill...
... is utterly unacceptable.
You know, I used to get, I would be so angry at the latest injustice that's done to these men and women and
You know another business card thrown our way
as a way of shooing us away like
Children trick-or-treating rather than the heroes that they are and will always be
Ray would say calm down Johnny calm down. I got all the cards I need and he would tap his pocket
where he kept the prayer cards.
343 firefighters
The official FDNY response time to 911 was five seconds. Five seconds.
That's how long it took for FDNY for NYPD for Port Authority for EMS to
Respond to an urgent need from the public five seconds
Hundreds died in an instant
Thousands more poured in
To continue to fight for their brothers and sisters
The breathing problem started almost immediately and they were told they weren't sick they were crazy and
Then as the illnesses got worse and things became more apparent. Well, okay, you're sick, but it's not from the pile
And then when the science became irrefutable
Okay, it's the pile
But this is a New York issue
I don't know if we have the money
And I'm sorry if I sound angry and undiplomatic
But I'm angry and
You should be too and they're all angry as well and they have every justification
To be that way
There is not a
Person here. There is not an empty chair on that stage that
Didn't tweet out never forget the heroes of 9/11
Never forget their bravery. Never forget what they did what they gave to this country. Well here they are
And where are they
And it would be one thing if their callous indifference and rank hypocrisy
were benign, but it's not
Your indifference cost these men and women their most valuable commodity - time
The one thing they're running out of
This should be flipped this hearing should be flipped these men and women should be up on that stage and Congress should be down here
answering their questions as
To why this is so damn hard and takes so damn long
and
Why no matter what they get?
Something's always pulled back and they got to come back
Mr. Johnson you made a point earlier and it was one that we have heard over and over again in these halls and I
Couldn't help but to answer to it, which was he said look
You know, you guys are obviously heroes and 9/11 was a big deal
But you know, we have a lot of stuff here to do and you know
we got to make sure there's money for a variety of
Disasters hurricanes and tornadoes but this wasn't a hurricane and this wasn't a tornado. And by the way, that's your job anyway
We can't fund these programs
You can setting aside that no American in this country should face financial ruin because of a health issue
Certainly 9/11 first responders shouldn't have to decide whether to live or to have a place to live
And the idea that you can only give them five more years of the VCF because you're not quite sure
What's gonna happen five years from now? Well, I can tell you I'm pretty sure what's gonna happen five years from now
More of these men and women are gonna get sick and they are going to die
And I am awfully tired of hearing that it's a 9/11 New York issue
Al-qaeda didn't shout death to Tribeca
They attacked America and these men and women and their response to it is
what brought our country back it's what gave a reeling nation a
solid foundation to stand back upon to remind us of why this
Country is great of why this country is worth fighting for and you are
ignoring them
And you can end it tomorrow
Why this bill isn't unanimous consent and
a standalone issue is beyond my comprehension and
I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation for why it'll get stuck in some
transportation bill or some
Appropriations bill and get sent over to the Senate where a certain someone from the Senate will use it as a political football
to get themselves maybe another new import tax on petroleum because that's what happened to us in 2015 and
We won't allow it to happen again
Thank God for people like John field
Thank God for people like ray fight for thank God for all of these people who will not let it happen
They responded in five seconds, they did their jobs
with courage, grace,
tenacity, humility
18 years later, DO YOURS!
Thank you
You