Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
When the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 came up for a vote a couple of weeks ago, all forty-two Senate Republicans voted to block the bill designed to provide health care for the men and women who rushed to "ground zero" more than nine years ago, and who have since paid for it with their health, and in more than 90 cases, their life … because Republicans refused to move on the bill until tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires were secured. They have their twisted priorities. Vote today on 9/11 health care bill — will Republicans block it?:
And now that the ransom has been paid, Senate Democrats will try again:
Senate Democrats have scheduled a key vote Wednesday on legislation helping rescue workers who responded to the 9/11 attacks.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that the Senate will hold a cloture vote at around noon to see if the bill providing healthcare benefits to 9/11 first responders can get the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
And while it is being reported that Harry Reid (D-NV) now has the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and move on to a vote for final passage, in recent days Tom Coburn (R-OK) has been vowing to block the bill.
Shep Smith, the one reporter at FAUX News with a semi-conscience, has finally focused the attention of the misinformed viewers of FAUX Nation (Study finds Fox News viewers most misinformed on issues) by calling out Republican senators by name, and the Despicable Doctor Coburn in particular. He was shamed into action by the efforts of Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. Shep Smith Names Every GOPer Who Wouldn't Talk 9/11 Bill With Him:
Fox News' Shep Smith is continuing to hammer Republican senators who wouldn't pass the 9/11 first responders bill, this time calling out by name those who wouldn't appear on his show to discuss the issue.
"We called a lot of Republicans today who are in office at the moment," he said Monday afternoon. "These are the ones who told us 'no': Senators Alexander, Barrasso, Cornyn, Crapo, DeMint, Enzi, Grassley, Kyl, McConnell, Sessions, Baucus, Gregg, and Inhofe. No response from Bunning, Coburn, Ensign, Graham, Hatch, and McCain."
"Why does no one want to talk about this?" Smith asked.
Shep Smith has zeroed in on Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) for vowing to slow down or block the bill until the next session of Congress. Shep Smith Zeroes In On Tom Coburn For Opposing 9/11 First Responders Bill:
In this latest installment, he showed a picture of Coburn and said:
He is the man who is vowing to slow this down or block it, so that the necessary funding for the illnesses of the first responders who made it to Ground Zero to try to save lives on the day that America changed — remember? This is the Senator who is vowing to block it so that it doesn't make it through. Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.
Tom Coburn may be the one taking all the heat now, but he couldn't have done it without his forty-one co-conspirators.
And if Coburn fails, it's important to remember that:
… all forty-two GOP Senators voted to block health care for 9/11 first responders until tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires were secured.
Call your senators now and demand that they vote for cloture and passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.
UPDATE: Public pressure and public shame from the media is having its intended effect. Sen. Tom Coburn reportedly has now dropped his objections to the bill. 9/11 Bill To Pass Unencumbered:
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has dropped his objections to the 9/11 first responders bill, which will allow Dems to circumvent procedural roadblocks and pass it quickly this afternoon.
Dems rounded up the votes they needed to break Coburn's filibuster earlier this week, and spent much of the morning and early afternoon negotiating with him to prevent him from delaying passage of the legislation by several days.
Coburn's price: a reduction of the price tag from $6.2 billion to $4.2 billion.
* * *
The House is in session today and primed to pass that and other last-minute legislation, before gaveling the 111th Congress to a close.
Sonuvabitch! The despicable Doctor Coburn just voted for $700 billion in tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, in addition to millions more under the Paris Hilton Amendment to the estate tax, none of which is paid for and will add to the deficit, and he wants to nickle and dime America's first responder heroes because he is worried about the cost? These heroes deserve the same commitment from America that it has made to its military veterans. These Republicans are beneath contempt.