US Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx) is satisfied with a final rule implementing the ruling by the World Trade Center Health Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (WTC-STAC) that certain cancers caused as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks will be included in the list of WTC-Related Health Conditions and would be covered by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010:
“On the the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I am heartened by the World Trade Center Health Program’s announcement that cancer care will be covered as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. This decision will help ensure that the brave men and women who are now suffering from cancers as a result of the attacks and their service to the nation will receive the coverage and care they need and deserve.
“I was proud to fight for this law’s enactment and I was proud to join my New York Congressional Delegation colleagues in encouraging the Advisory Committee to include cancer care as part of the program. There is much more still to be done in treating those who served that day and the many days after, but today is a critical step forward in fulfilling the longstanding promise of caring for those who so honorably served our nation at a time of need.”
The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act provides assistance to the thousands of people who are now suffering from health issues as a result of their heroic actions on September 11th. The original list of WTC-Related Health Conditions that was established by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 did not include cancers, but allowed for the opportunity to add other health conditions over time as research improved. Crowley, along with the New York Congressional Delegation, had called for adding these cancers to the list.
Crowley is the only member of Congress who lost a family member on September 11th, his cousin Battalion Chief John Moran.
Congressman Crowley is a seven-term representative from the 7th Congressional District of New York, which includes sections of Queens and the Bronx. He serves as chief deputy whip in the Democratic leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.