While firefighters clashed with the catastrophic fire in Los Angeles in January, California Senate members, Adam Chef and Alex Badilla, both Democrats, fell to legislation with a simple goal: providing federal assistance to the first respondents who were diagnosed with service -related cancer.
the Honoring the law of our fallen heroes Its supporters are very important, with climate change An increase in fire frequency And combating fires that the World Health Organization considers. Firefighters have a 14 % higher opportunity For death from cancer from the general population, according to a study conducted in 2024, this disease was Responsible for 66 % From the functional deaths of the service line in service from 2002 to 2019.
Forest fires in Los Angeles brought the fear caused by these bold relief statistics. Since homes, companies and cars – and the products inside – were burned, gases, chemicals, and asbestos, Other toxic pollutants It is launched in the air, and it is often settled in soil and dust. The first respondents working closely, often without sufficient protection for the respiratory system, were at risk of developing harmful health conditions.
Just days after the fires contained, the researchers tested a group of 20 firefighters who came from northern California to help fight the fire, and found dangerous levels of mercury and mercury in their blood. Results are part of a long -term study that follows the health effects of January fires on people exposed to toxic emissions. The team includes researchers from Harvard University, University of California in Los Angeles, University of California, Davis, Texas University in Austin, and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of South California.
“The firefighters and the first respondents put their lives at stake without the second thinking to protect California societies from the devastating southern California fires,” Badilla said in a statement. “When they sacrifice their lives or face severe disabilities due to service related cancers, we have a common duty to help restore their families on their feet.”
But although the law honoring our fallen heroes has support from the two parties, it still faces a political approximate path, and those who spent years in dealing with similar government -run programs warn against major implementation cases in the event that the scale becomes law.
The Judicial Committee of the Senate approved a similar bill in 2024, but the procedure did not advance to the ground. With lawmakers who are likely to have discounts in the huge federal budget, his fate in Congress this year is out of clear. What is clear is that for legislation that links the benefits to the health conditions related to service, Satan is in the details.
“Obtaining legislation that has been passed is not difficult to guard,” said John Phil, who was injured on 9/11 Ground Zero while working as a demolition supervisor. He has since become a fierce preacher of the first respondents and military warriors.
“You will see the legislation ripe, as more and more people who need help,” Phil said. He added that the program’s ability to grow – in dealing with the applications of those who have successfully assisted – may become the ability of the program to process the applications of those who have applied to help – challenge.
This is what happened with the various government programs that were created after the September 11 attacks to provide cash compensation and health care for the injured respondents, including some who were later diagnosed with cancer. both of them Victims compensation fund on September 11 and World Trade Center Health Program She faced major financing problems and were suffering from logistical failure.
The structure of the law of the heroes who fell, under the auspices of Senator Amy Klopochar (D-MINN), may be allowed to avoid some financing restaurants. Instead of creating a new interest program, the draft law gives firefighters who have cases not related to cancer 9/11 Program for public safety employeesWhich provides the benefits of death, disability and critical education for respondents to the service line and the family members who are alive.
The advantages of death in such compulsory spending programs are funded, regardless of Congress budget decisions. However, the financing of disability and education depends on the annual credits.
Even with full financing, legislation can face implementation problems similar to those that suffer from September 11 programs, including complex eligibility standards, and the difficulty of documenting that diseases are related to service, and we are expected recently- The mind of federal attempts in discounts.
Lawyer Michael Parash, the late New York Police, James Zaduga, who developed the pulmonary fibrosis of the toxic exposure at the World Trade Center site and its affiliation Health and Compensation Law on 9/11 It was called. Parash, who still represents the victims of the events of September 11 and the pressure of Congress for program improvements and financing, said that the honor of the law of the heroes who fell to us should slow the process of the first respondents to document that their cancers are linked to the combat of forest fires.
“In my experience that represents more than 40,000 members of the September 11 community, any similar program must have a clear set of criteria to determine eligibility,” Parash told KFF Health News. “The unnecessary complexity creates a grave risk that the respondents who should have been qualified may not get the benefits.”
FEAL added that legislators should be ready to enhance the financing of employees adequately for the public safety employees benefits program if it is added to the conditions currently covered, noting that the September 11 programs have inflated with more respondents for the first time in the conditions related to the service.
“There were 75,000 people in the program in 2015. There are now approximately 140,000,” said FEAL. “There is an accumulation of registration in the WTC program because they suffer from a lack of employees, and there is also an accumulation to obtain a certificate of your illness so that you can compensate.”
Since the public safety employees benefits program are currently being implemented, firefighters and other respondents are qualified to obtain support for the physical injuries they bear in duty or for deaths from heart attacks associated with duty, strokes, mental health conditions, and 9/11 diseases. The draft law will add provisions to those who die or become permanently disabled from other service cancers.
The law of honoring our falling heroes was introduced in 2023 and was re -submitted on January 23 this year, with the Klobuchar signal to California fires in it. press release. The Congress Budget Office estimated last year that the bill will cost about $ 250 million annually from 2024 to 2034; It has not been weighed since the procedure is re -submitted.
Edward Kelly, president of ASSN International, said: “The fist of the firefighting service is undeniable,” said Edward Kelly, President of ASSN International. From firefighters. “When a firefighter from professional cancer dies, we condemn them by ensuring that their families get the advantages of the death they owe.”
This article was produced by KFF Health NewsA national news room that produces an in -depth press on health issues.