When the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 came up for a vote a couple of weeks ago, all forty-two Senate Republicans voted to block the bill designed to provide health care for the men and women who rushed to "ground zero" more than nine years ago, and who have since paid for it with their health, and in more than 90 cases, their life ... because Republicans refused to move on the bill until tax cuts for millionaires were secured.
And now that the ransom has been paid, Senate Democrats will try again
Senate Democrats have scheduled a key vote Wednesday on legislation helping rescue workers who responded to the 9/11 attacks.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that the Senate will hold a cloture vote at around noon to see if the bill providing healthcare benefits to 9/11 first responders can get the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster.
And while it is being reported that Harry Reid (D-NV) now has the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and move on to a vote for final passage, in recent days Tom Coburn (R-OK) has been vowing to block the bill.
And if he succeeds, it's important to remember that:
... while the other forty-one Senate Republicans may be thrilled that Coburn is taking most of the heat, the bottom line is, less than two weeks ago all forty-two GOP Senators voted to block health care for 9/11 workers until they got a deal on tax cuts for millionaires.
Tom Coburn may be the one making the most noise about this now, but he couldn't have done it without his forty-one co-conspirators. And no one should ever forget that.
And if Coburn fails, it's important to remember that:
... all forty-two GOP Senators voted to block health care for 9/11 workers until they got a deal on tax cuts for millionaires.