President Barack Obama signed the 9/11 health bill into law in Hawaii on Sunday, White House spokesman Bill Burton said.
Obama signed the bill during his Hawaiian vacation. No signing ceremony was held.
The bill made a long journey in order to get signed. A printed copy of the bill flew with a White House staffer from Washington to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, so Obama could sign it from his vacation rental in Kailua.
“It came out with a member of the staff so that it could be signed in a timely fashion,” Burton said.
The legislation, officially titled the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, provides health coverage to first responders to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, who have been battling for federal help for years. It also reopens the federal Victim Compensation Fund to provide economic relief to those harmed by the attacks.
After a contentious battle in which some Republicans suggested the legislation was creating a new entitlement program, it finally passed during the lame-duck session of Congress in December.
New York lawmakers hailed the bill’s signing.
“After a long, arduous path with several near-defeats, this bill is finally law,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. “The heroes who rushed to Ground Zero in the hours and days after the attacks will not be forgotten. These first responders were like veterans, and this law keeps with a time-honored tradition of standing by our veterans when they get harmed answering the call. We will begin work immediately to make sure this law gets renewed for another five years.”
“Today, nine years after the devastation of 9/11, the United States has honored its obligation to the heroes and survivors of 9/11,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, and one of the authors of the bill, said in a statement. “With President Obama’s signing of our bill … it is clear that the government has not forgotten the thousands who have served and suffered.” (CNN)
