The health-care programs of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act have taken effect, six months after it was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama.
The act provides $4.3 billion in long-term federal financing for both treatment and financial compensation for first responders suffering lingering effects of the attacks.
Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, said the country owed a debt to those who responded to the attacks, and that "today we're paying a part of that debt that can never be repaid."
Source: New York Times
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