Congress Shelves 9/11 Workers’ Long-Term Care Bill

Congress has shelved a $10.9 billion bill to provide health care for ground zero workers, partly due to opposition from New York City officials.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg objected to a provision in the bill that would have required the city to pay 10 percent of the cost of a long-term program providing health care to those sick after working amid the toxic World Trade Center debris in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The total cost of the 10-year health program was to be $5.1 billion. The city’s share was to be $500 million.

The bill also would have reopened the Sept. 11 victim compensation fund for those who became sick after working amid the toxic debris.