American Morning
9/11 first responder: Health bill is 'bittersweet,' a 'seven' on scale of 10
(CNN) - A compromise bill to provide free medical treatment and compensation to first responders of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack won final approval Wednesday from the House and Senate, sending it to President Barack Obama to be signed into law. The bill passed on a voice vote in the Senate, and then on a 206-60 vote in the House on the final day of the lame-duck session of Congress. Jubilant Democrats hailed the last-minute approval as a $4.2 billion triumph for firefighters, police officers and other emergency personnel who put themselves in harm's way to help others in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attack.
Today on American Morning, 9/11 first responder John Feal, FealGood Foundation, who lost half a foot during the rescue effort from Sept. 11, 2001, and still suffers from respiratory and post-traumatic stress issues, talks to AM's John Roberts and Carol Costello.
Watch the interview to see why he says the bill is better than any Christmas present.
Why the wait for 9/11 First Responders Bill?
The Senate is expected to take up the 9/11 First Responders Bill before the Christmas holiday as they wrap up their "lame duck" session. But many have been asking why has it taken so long to pass the bill. The bill, which assures future health coverage for those first rescuers, cleared the House earlier this month but passing the House has proven to be quite a partisan battle.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D, New York, is one of the senators leading the charge for the bill. She joins American Morning's John Roberts this morning to talk about what the hold up has been.
Pay now or pay later?
Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Texas, who against it the tax deal and congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who supports the deal debate the cut deal, which is estimated at $858 billion.
Rep. Pence says no!
The Indiana congressman believes the tax compromise is "bad deal "for American taxpayers and cannot support it. He believes the two year extension of tax cuts only insures uncertainty and is not a foundation for economic growth. Pence explains on CNN's American Morning, if the tax cuts are made permanent it will help businesses add jobs.
VA Atty. Gen. on healthcare: "What we need is more citizen control"
A federal judge on Monday upheld a constitutional challenge to the health care law brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson ruled Congress had placed an unconstitutional requirement on Americans to get health insurance. Cuccinelli sites the health care law as an extension of unwarranted government control and maintains this choice should be left up to citizens.
This strikes a serious legal blow to the law thus far and moves the case toward an expected battle in the U.S. Supreme Court, perhaps in 2012. Republicans using the ruling as a victory to set in motion steps to repealing the reform once they have a House majority in January. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli spoke to CNN's John Roberts about the case.
"He embodied the fine principles of this country"
(CNN) - Richard C. Holbrooke, the high-octane diplomat who spearheaded the end of the Bosnian war and most recently served as the Obama administration's point man in the volatile Afghan-Pakistani war zone, died Monday at George Washington University Hospital in Washington. James Rubin, former assistant secretary of state and adjunct professor at Columbia University, discusses how his passing impacts the diplomatic community and the world at large.
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