|
| |
|
|
He also said he wants Congress to make the city no
longer liable for claims. Bloomberg has been criticized
for fighting a negligence lawsuit brought by thousands
of sick rescue workers against the city. He's also been
criticized for not taking the
health problems seriously.
Critics say it’s about time the city put together a
plan.
“We need this money,” said Marvin Bethea. “They just
don’t get it.” The hospital paramedic survived the
collapse of the towers and helped with the rescue
effort. He's suffering from a number of conditions. But
Bethea worries if left to the federal government, the
financial aid will take too long to be any help to those
suffering.
“If we’re going to wait on a law for the federal
government to pass, so we can get this $150 million,
then get this $1 billion, that could be two, three, four
years from now,” said Bethea. “We need that money
today.”
“This is another step. You could say better today than
tomorrow,” the mayor said.
The mayor says that without federal support, screening
and treatment programs for workers won't go beyond the
end of this year because the city simply has no more
money to devote to them.
He says he's optimistic Congress will come through,
however, pointing out that New York's Congressional
delegation is part of the Democratic majority. |
|
|
|
|
