Mayor Lobbies Congress To Help Treat 9/11 Illnesses

By Staff Reporter of the Sun | March 20, 2007

Mayor Bloomberg circulated a report among Congress yesterday calling for lawmakers to fund treatment for World Trade Center-related illnesses and to open a victim compensation fund.

The report, which the mayor's administration released last month, was delivered to members of Congress two days before he is scheduled to testify in Washington before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Mr. Bloomberg was invited by Senator Clinton to make the appearance.

The mayor's 83-page report calls on the federal government to defray $150 million in medical programs annually and to create a $1 billion compensation fund.

"Thousands of Americans sacrificed so much to help our City through its darkest hour, and to help America recover from the deadliest attack on American soil," Mr. Bloomberg wrote in a letter that accompanied the report. "We owe these Americans a commitment."

Mr. Bloomberg's scheduled appearance tomorrow comes about three weeks after two of his two aides testified before a House committee on the same issue.