Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may bring 9/11 aid bill to floor month after it failed in House

BY MICHAEL MCAULIFF
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Thursday, August 12th 2010, 4:00 AM

Hamburg/News

Sen. Harry Reid may be instrumental in giving Zadroga Act a second life.

The bill failed in the House in a spectacular display last month when Democrats tried to pass it in a procedure that needed a two-thirds vote - and barred the GOP from changing the legislation.WASHINGTON - The leader of the U.S. Senate is weighing whether to bring up the key 9/11 health bill for a full vote after Congress returns from vacation, the Daily News has learned.

The measure won a majority, but with only 12 Republicans, leaving it short of the higher bar. Angry outbursts erupted on the floor, and a rift among New Yorkers followed.

The state's delegation patched up their differences this week and have vowed to bring the $7.4 billion bill back for a regular vote next month. But the Senate has been an even bigger sticking point, and if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) can get the more deliberative body to act, it would all but assure 9/11's first responders and victims finally get aid and compensation after nine years.

"I can only hope the Senate does act quickly and doesn't play political games with this," said 9/11 responder and advocate John Feal. "They could show the House how it should be done."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who has sponsored the Senate bill, wrote to Reid yesterday to push him along. "More than 900 heroes have died from health complications attributed to exposure at Ground Zero since 2001, with thousands more experiencing physical and mental health conditions," Gillibrand wrote in a letter obtained by The News.

"This legislation has languished for far too long, and these heroes cannot wait any longer," Gillibrand wrote, noting that 14,000 World Trade Center responders live outside the New York metro area, including 126 in Reid's home state of Nevada.

A spokesman for Reid confirmed he is focusing on the measure and trying to figure out how to pass it.

The big problems are how it is paid for, and whether or not one Republican can be found to back it and ensure it cannot be blocked by a filibuster.

The House version shuts a tax loophole for foreign subsidiaries doing business here to raise the cash needed for 10 years, but sources have told The News that Senate Republicans do not like that maneuver.

Gillibrand is one of those hunting for a Republican backer.

"My boss is optimistic a Republican will support this," spokesman Matt Canter said.