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 .  