Sep 11, 2007 6:28 am US/Eastern
Pelosi To 9/11 First Responders: 'We Owe You More'
Speaker Tours Ground Zero, Vows To Get More Money
by Marcia Kramer
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi toured ground zero on Sept. 10 and told first responders she will fight to get them more money in their ongoing battle against 9/11-related illnesses.
Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
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Health issues are taking center stage as the city marks the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (File photo)
CBS
Today, 9/11 first responders will read the names of those who died that day. That's a first, and it comes just as one top lawmaker is promising to address the health concerns of workers at Ground Zero.
First responders and others who worked at Ground Zero got a new and very important supporter in their corner on Monday.
On the eve of the sixth anniversary of 9/11, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and toured Ground Zero. She charged that Ground Zero workers have been shortchanged.
"We owe you more than you have received," Pelosi said.
"The situation they are in now challenges the conscience of our country. They acted in good faith. They acted in good conscience. I don't think we have met that challenge."
At her meeting with the mayor, she was told that the needs of those who worked at Gground Zero will cost $393 million a year. So far, the feds have only coughed up $50 million.
Pelosi pledged to do more.
"I don't want to over promise, but what I do want to say is we have been lacking in meeting their needs. We want to document what they are and present a sustainable, positive proposal for how we go forward."
Former firefighter Lee Ielpi spent months on the pile looking for his missing firefighter son. He has leukemia. He also started the Tribute Center at Ground Zero.
"The illnesses are mushrooming something horrible now, we all know it," Ielpi said. "The cancers are starting to show more and more respiratory is out of control. Sinus now has become another issue.
"What remains now is how much are they going to contribute, because it is going to come down to dollars and cents. This is only the tip of the iceberg."
The public officials, those already sick and those who could get sick, hope the speaker's words are more than empty promises.
CBS 2 HD will provide live coverage of the ceremony remembering the victims of the 9/11 attacks, beginning Tuesday morning at 8:25 on channel 2 and on wcbstv.com.
If you're planning to attend today's ceremonies, here is a partial schedule of events:
The program begins at 8:40 a.m., as bagpipers and drummers take to the stage with the World Trade Center Flag.
8:46 a.m.: Moment of Silence at the time the first plane struck the north tower.
9:03 a.m.: Moment of Silence at the time when the second plane hit the south tower.
9:59 a.m.: Moment of Silence when the South tower fell.
10:29 a.m.: Moment of Silence when the North Tower fell.
The program concludes at 12:30 p.m.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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