There is just a day left before the Sept. 11 health benefits for first responders expire, and one lawmaker is continuing her push to make those benefits permanent.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand took to the Senate floor Tuesday to push for the extension of the health program, including the Zadroga Act. She says that since Sept. 11, about 1,700 people have died from illnesses related to the attacks.
"The terror attack on that day in 2001 is still claiming American lives," Gililbrand says. "This includes the heroes who ran into the towers to save whom they could, who worked on the pile so that America might rebuild, who would not abandon their community in a time of terrifying confusion and intense grief."
About 33,000 first responders and survivors are suffering from at least one Sept. 11-related illness.