Vote on 9/11 responders healthcare legislation expected Wednesday

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill guaranteeing medical monitoring, treatment and economic compensation for those who were injured or sickened by the 9/11 attack in New York and its subsequent toxic cloud.

A House staffer involved with the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act tells The Hill that a vote could take place as early as 11 a.m. The bill is expected to get the 218 votes needed to pass; it garnered 255 votes in July when it came up under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage.

The bill would formally authorize health programs that have been appropriated for the past several years. Fifty thousand responders and survivors would be covered by the program over the next 10 years.

The bill is sponsored by New York Democrats Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler and Republican Peter King. It would cost about $5 billion.

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