Rejected Health Bill for 9/11 Responders May Be Settled in Federal Courts
A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to 9/11 rescue and recovery workers sickened after working in the World Trade Center ruins fell short in the House on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts. The bill, which would have provided free health care and compensation payments, failed to win the needed two-thirds majority. The vote, 255-159, fell largely along party lines.