By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — Momentum is building in Washington for the 9/11 health bill, but very little time remains to pass it.
Local politicians and first responders gathered at City Hall Monday morning to urge Congress to take immediate action on the bill and send it to President Barack Obama before everyone heads home for Christmas.
"The time for excuses is over," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "Very simply, it’s time to end the debate and let the bill be voted on."
The legislation would provide much-needed medical care and compensation to the thousands of rescue and recovery workers who are sick after laboring amid the toxic dust at Ground Zero, along with many local residents, students and office workers who are also sick from their exposure.
The bill has already passed the House of Representatives but failed to move forward after Senate Republicans blocked it earlier this month.
Over the weekend, Senate leaders agreed on a new version of the bill, which reduces its cost from $7.4 billion to $6.2 billion. The new version also pays for the services through charges on visas and foreign companies doing business in the United States, rather than by closing a tax loophole.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has led the advocacy for the bill, said she believes the legislation now has enough Republican supporters to move forward in the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has promised to hold a vote this week.
But the bill will then have to return to the House of Representatives, so the House can approve the altered version. The House must vote before dispersing for Christmas, because the new House that will convene early next year has a Republican majority and would be unlikely to support the bill.
"We have the votes to pass it," said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who co-sponsored the original House bill. "The question now is do we have the time to pass it."
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said NYPD officers urgently need the support the bill would provide. Nearly 400 officers have been forced to retire because of 9/11-related illnesses and 36 have died, which is more than the 23 police officers killed on 9/11, Kelly said.
The bill is formally known as the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, named for an NYPD detective who died of a respiratory illness in 2006 after working at Ground Zero.
Joseph Zadroga, James Zadroga’s father, said Monday that the bill’s passage would bring some relief to the many sick responders.
"They’re out there suffering," Zadroga said. "The families are out there suffering. They need this help."
