There are certain issues that come up in legislatures that are moral in nature, that are about what is right. The successful effort by Senate Republicans to derail the Zadroga bill was outrageous and totally immoral. The federal government has failed in its obligation to the thousands of surviving 9/11 victims. Yet another generation of Republican leaders is telling New York to drop dead.

As the Assemblyman from Lower Manhattan and having witnessed one of the airliners hitting the towers, I am terribly aware of the pain and suffering that resulted from the September 11 attack. This bill would help ensure that the brave rescue workers still trying to overcome 9/11-related illnesses have continued access to needed services. I live and work near Ground Zero. I can tell you first-hand that there are still thousands of people suffering.

Providing for their health and safety should not be a political decision. In the days and weeks following 9/11, the Bush Administration assured us that the air was safe. They were wrong. Now, Senate Republicans are abandoning the victims of the worst terrorist attack on American soil.