Congressman Paul Ryan wants to cut taxes for the wealthiest, but does not want to cover cancer treatment for 9/11 responders.
And that brings us to our number of the day:
Two.
That’s how many times the vice presidential candidate voted against a bill to provide medical care for those injured by toxins at Ground Zero.
This means the heroes who ran into the rubble to rescue and retrieve. The heroes who as a result — along with residents near the Twin Towers — ended up breathing in particles of glass, asbestos, cement, lead and other poisons.
So the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was designed to get them medical help. Initially, it failed in the House because it required a two-thirds super majority. But the second time, it only needed a simple majority — and it passed.
Ryan fought it both times.
He complained it “would create a new health care entitlement” — and might extend eligibility for compensation.
For most of us, that’s not a problem. We recognize an obligation to those who demonstrated remarkable heroism on 9/11 and might have contracted cancer in the process.
But Ryan objected — twice.
Ryan still won’t list a single tax loophole to close, but he’s more than happy to vote against health care for heroes of 9/11.
