CelticBomber wrote:I'm sorry but those First Responder's deserve every penny. How many died that day rushing into those buildings? They're hero's. These guys are just as dead as their brothers who died on that day it's just taking longer and they aren't getting the dignity of a quick death. Their families have to watch them waste away piece by piece.Can you imagine the number of funerals these guys have gone to in the past 18 years? A few billion dollars is nothing to our gov't. I wonder how much CASH the CIA has handed out to bribe local militias, warlords, and corrupt foreign gov't officials in the last 18 years.I watched a talk given by a CIA grs(protection agent) about how they all carried bags with at least 100k to 200k and up in cash so they could pay bribes on the spot, or buy weapons/vehicles and even aircraft if needed. All those tax payer dollars to pay the scum of the earth off and we can't take care of our own? Screw that!
If I'm not mistaken, the bill being debated is for "Victims of 9/11". This includes people inside and around the WTC, the Pentagon, and the airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania, who were killed and hurt by the terrorist attacks.
It does not include the first responders, who are covered by Workers Comp., and who deserve every penny of their post 9/11 death and medical benefits.
The victims were mostly private citizens...why should all of us pay their families' survivor benefits (based on the deceased's expected lifetime earnings) or the medical bills of those who survived but have expensive health issues?