NEW HAVEN -- Financial support for first responders to the September 11 attacks was in danger of drying up until Congress decided to extend funding permanently.
Tuesday morning, at the New Haven Fire Department Training Academy, two members of Connecticut's congressional delegation said it's about time.
The World Trade Center Health Program ensures proper medical treatment and monitoring of over 33,000 first responders and survivors who have 9/11-related illnesses.
"When those towers fell, there were 2,000 tons of asbestos that pushed out from the site," noted Sen. Chris Murphy.
There are 381 Connecticut first responders and 48 survivors currently benefiting from the World Trade Center Health Program, and 38 Connecticut residents who have gotten compensation from the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. Many others have registered claims with the fund.
In the end, the way that this bill got done, was by cutting Medicaid services for the poor and elderly, according to Murphy.
"The cost of this program will be about $3.5 billion for the health fund and $4.6 billion for the compensation fund," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who said those numbers are minimal compared to the heroism each first responder displayed.
Murphy contends the first responders were misled from the beginning, being told the site was safe to work on.
"Then, they were not given protective gear that might have stopped some of these cancers and respiratory illnesses from ravaging their bodies," said Murphy.
In attendance at the media briefing was a group on New Haven Fire Department recruits who will go into service on January 12. They say they were inspired by the events of 9/11.
"I remember being in class when one of our teachers told us about it and I was just feeling horrible and feeling like the world has changed," said Dan Scotto.
Scotto says he recently gave up a career in teaching because he wanted "to make a bigger difference. I looked towards firefighting and here I am a week away from graduation."
The funding, agreed to by Congress, will provide financial support for all responders--not just police and firefighters--who worked at the former World Trade Center site in the weeks and months that followed the tragedy.