The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, the law that created the World Trade Center Health Program to provide compensation for illnesses for the first responders and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, has been expanded to include coverage for a variety of cancers.

The law was passed in 2010, named for police detective James Zadroga, who died at age 34 after working at Ground Zero. You might remember that Republicans opposed the bill in committee and then blocked passage of the bill under suspension before it was finally passed in the House under a regular rule and sent to the Senate.

You also might remember that Paul Ryan was among those Republicans voting against providing coverage to the 9/11 heroes. He voted against it in July 2010. He voted against it in September 2010. He didn't vote against final passage in December 2010 because he's already skipped town for the holiday break. But when Congress reconvened in January, he gave a floor statement saying that he would have voted against it, again.



Ryan explained in a floor statement that he would have opposed the final passage vote, too, calling the bill “deeply flawed.” He also complained that it “would create a new health care entitlement, the World Trade Center Health Program, while also extending eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.”

If Paul Ryan speaks today in remembrance of the heroes and the victims of 9/11, remember that Ryan doesn't think that those heroes and the people living through the prolonged horror of what happened at Ground Zero deserve anything from their government. Apparently, in Ryan's mind, they're just moochers, looking for an entitlement.