mr. speaker , i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time . 
i rise in opposition to this bill and to the rule . 
let it be known that november 17 , 2005 , is the day this congress officially forgot the heroes of 9/11 . 
when we vote on this conference report , we will be taking away $ 125 million promised to sick 9/11 workers . 
this is money these men and women were promised by this congress and by the president in 2001 . 
but now , in an era of misdirected priorities , the president and this congress are snatching the money back . 
in fact , this bill is full of misdirected priorities when we consider that the republican leadership will spend more on tax cuts this week , $ 70 billion , than they will on education and labor programs for the entire coming year , $ 68 billion . 
you only start to realize how out of touch this congress is with the priorities of the average american people . 
i hear daily from members of congress that we will never forget 9/11 ; but when we turn a cold shoulder to the men and women who were there for us in our greatest hour of need , i can not in good conscience vote for this bill . 
the 9/11 responders are not asking for much . 
all they are asking for is to be treated with respect and dignity . 
they rushed to ground zero with no concern for their own safety . 
we were under attack , and america needed help . 
they responded ; and as a result , many of them are very sick now . 
the government 's response has been to fight these heroes every step of the way . 
many have had their claims denied or wrapped up in red tape for months or years . 
then when not all of the money was spent in new york state , we are told this is justification for taking it back , even though the need is still great . 
this shell game would be comical if it were not so sad and so hard on the lives of these people . 
i know this decision today is not the fault of the gentleman from ohio ( chairman regula ) . 
i understand that his hands are tied on this issue . 
i would also like to thank a fellow new yorker , mr. walsh . 
he has been an absolute champion for this issue in the committee . 
despite their hard work and the work of a united new york delegation , united democrats and republicans , the outcome today is not what it should be . 
the one thing i know and i can promise is that this fight is not over . 
i speak for all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle , certainly in the new york delegation , that we are not going to stop until we meet the needs of the heroes of 9/11 and this promised money of $ 125 million is restored to the budget . 
anything short is just plain wrong , and it hurts the health care of our heroes . 
