What Romney And Ryan Really Think!

9/11 By Mem

Tue Sep 11, 2012 at 06:25 AM PDT

Paul Ryan Voted AGAINST 9/11 First Responders 3X

Plus Romney Failed To "Thank" 9/11 First Responders

Ok, so Romney caught crap, deservedly so, from rightwing warmongers like draft dodger Billy Kristol for not thanking our Troops in war during his acceptance speech for the nomination of Commander in Chief.

       To slither a 'makeup' for his failure, Mitt Romney issued a statement today regarding the 11 year anniversary of September 11, 2001 where he thanked our Troops -finally- but failed to mention the First Responders who, without blinking, rushed into two burning buildings, literally risked their lives to protect Americans and foreigners who were trapped inside the two Twin Towers.

“Eleven years ago, evil descended upon our country, taking thousands of lives in an unspeakable attack against innocents. America will never forget those who perished.  America will never stop caring for the loved ones they left behind. And America shall remain ever vigilant against those who would do us harm. Today we again extend our most profound gratitude to our brave troops who have gone into battle, some never to return, so that we may live in peace. On this most somber day, those who would attack us should know that we are united, one nation under God, in our determination to stop them and to stand tall for peace and freedom at home and across the world.” ~Romney statement 9/11/2012

      Notice, Romney wrote, "America will never stop caring for the loved ones they left behind" ... hmm ... that's BS because Mitt Romney should know, due to vetting, that his running mate, Paul Ryan (R) voted against the 9/11 First Responder Healthcare Bill three times in 2010 ... THREE TIMES!!!

       Paul Ryan voted against 9/11 First Responders Healthcare Bill because, according to Paul Ryan, giving 9/11 First Responders Healthcare was did not "take priority" and was a new "Entitlement."

       But, what really pissed Paul Ryan off was that the Bill was paid for by closing Tax Loopholes on Foreign Corporations and Paul Ryan literally said, that closing Tax Loopholes for Foreign Corporations was a "deeply flawed" approach.

       Face it, no matter what these two rightwinged half-wits say, they do not give one damn about our Troops or any of the First Responders in any city, under any situation.  

      Remember when Mitt Romney chastised President Obama for wanting to provide States funding to keep First Responders employed?

       9/11 First Responder Healthcare Bill that Paul Ryan voted against three times in 2010 was not surprising.  After all, on January 20, 2009, inauguration night, Paul Ryan plotted to sabotage the U.S. Economy in a 4 hour covert meeting with 11 Republican Congressmen plus GOP Propagandist Frank Luntz plus Newt Gingrich.  )Read the story here) Newt Gingrich admitted he attended that covert meeting on Politics Nation, June 12, 2012.

BACKGROUND: (on 9/11 First Responder Healthcare Bill)
     In 2010, New York City Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D), sponsored The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, which provided medical monitoring to those exposed to toxins at Ground Zero, bolstered treatment at specialized centers for those afflicted by toxins on 9/11 and reopened a compensation fund to provide economic loss to New Yorkers.

FUNDING THE BILL:
     Because Republicans pretend to care about the Deficit, Democrats made sure that every penny of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was paid for by closing a Tax Loophole on Foreign Corporations.  But that just outraged House Republicans, because Tax Increases, even on Foreign Companies, even to benefit 9/11 First Responders, are always evil.

DAY BEFORE PAUL RYAN'S FIRST "NO" VOTE
      July 28, 2010 Politico Reported

House Republican leadership is advising its members to vote against a bipartisan bill that would, among other things, bolster medical support to Sept. 11 victims.

     Politico went on to report that the Republicans were calling it a "job-killing" Bill that creates a new "Entitlement" - no kidding!

But according to Republicans, it’s a job-killing growth of government that would create a new entitlement and waste taxpayer dollars.

DAY OF PAUL RYAN'S FIRST "NO" VOTE
     July 29, 2010 Paul Ryan (R-WI) voted "NEY" on the 9/11 First Responder Healthcare Bill.

July 29, 2010: House Vote #491 (111th Congress) H.R. 847 (111th): James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
     This vote was taken under a procedure called “suspension of the rules” which is typically used to pass non-controversial bills. Votes under suspension require a 2/3rds majority. A failed vote under suspension can be taken again.
Paul Ryan voted "NEY"
Source: GovTrack

PAUL RYAN'S SECOND "NO" VOTE:
       On September 29, 2010 (18 days after anniversary of 9/11) Paul Ryan voted against the 9/11 First Responders Bill again.

Date: Sep 29, 2010 (111th Congress) Number: House Vote #550
Related Bill: H.R. 847 (111th): James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
Introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY14] on February 4, 2009
This was a vote to approve or reject a bill or resolution.
Paul Ryan voted "NEY"
Source: GovTrack

    Despite Paul Ryan and other House Republicans sudden loathing of 9/11 First Responders, HR 847 passed the House where it would be met with Filibusters from the 9/11 First Responder-Hating Senate Republicans.  Jon Stewart mocked the Republicans for Filibustering the, what should be, non-controversial 9/11 First Responder Bill, so the Republicans finally lifted the Filibuster and the Bill passed and went back to the House where Paul Ryan had one more chance to do the right thing by 9/11 First Responders ... but he failed.

PAUL RYAN'S THIRD "NO" VOTE (did not bother to vote)
          You see, Paul Ryan did not make time to vote for the 9/11 First Responders Bill, in fact, the last vote Paul Ryan took in 2010 was the day before, December 21, 2010.  He just did not have time for the 9/11 First Responders - maybe he had Christmas shopping to do?

Number:  House Vote #664
Date: Dec 22, 2010 (111th Congress)
Result :  Passed
Related Bill: H.R. 847 (111th): James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
Introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY14] on February 4, 2009 This was a vote to approve or reject a bill or resolution.
Paul Ryan did not vote
Source: GovTrack

      Neat huh?  

       Now let's read Paul Ryan's 2010 statement on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 (18 days before he rejected the 9/11 First Responders). Oh wait!  Paul Ryan did not issue a statement on the anniversary of 9/11 in 2010 (see here).  Again, Ryan did not have time to think about the 9/11 First Responders who was screwing over in 2010.

        In January 2011, when Paul Ryan finally went back to the Congress, he went to the House Floor and lambasted the 9/11 First Responder Bill and explained, that had he bothered to vote on December 22, 2010, Ryan would have voted against the 9/11 First Responder Bill.

Paul Ryan's Floor statement "A deeply Flawed Bill"
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin.
      Madam Speaker, I was absent for legislative business and missed rollcall vote 663 on December 21, 2010, and rollcall vote 664 on December 22, 2010. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 6547, the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act, and ``no'' on rollcall vote 664 (H.R. 847).
   The vote I wish to discuss is the bill H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Without a doubt, Republicans and Democrats can agree that both the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the first responders who bravely served following the attacks deserve to be fairly treated and compensated. However, this bill would create a new health care entitlement, the World Trade Center Health Program, while also extending eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. As a result, had I been present, I would have voted against passage of the bill.
   Since the terrorist attacks occurred nearly nine years ago, I have supported legislation to ensure that these individuals are cared for and receive access to the services they deserve. However, rather than working with Republicans to craft a bill which truly addressed the shortcomings in care provided to those directly impacted by the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Majority instead rushed this bill to the floor in the waning hours of the 111th Congress, refusing to allow an open debate or consider amendments.    The result is a deeply flawed bill. H.R. 847 creates yet another mandatory spending program--increasing spending by $4.2 billion dollars over 10 years--and paying for it by an Excise Tax on Foreign Manufacturers, an extension of Travel Promotion Act fees, and the extension of HI-B visa fees.
   There is no doubt that we owe a debt of gratitude to those who came to the rescue of countless individuals following the attacks on September 11, 2001, but these provisions distort that noble goal. At a time when our budget deficit is $1.3 trillion and our national debt stands at $13.8 trillion, we must accurately account for those programs that take priority. I remain hopeful that as the 112th Congress convenes, my colleagues and I can work together to reform some of my concerns with this proposal and truly provide the services these first responders deserve.
~hattip to dailykos' JR

PAUL RYAN & GOP EFFORT TO DEMONIZE 9/11 FIRST RESPONDERS:
        In order to vote against 9/11 First Responders the Republican party began to demonize the 9/11 First Responders.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, called it a "new entitlement program that we simply cannot afford."

Texas Republican Lamar Smith complained the measure "creates a huge slush fund open to abuse, fraud and waste."

     Slush fund, entitlement, job killer ... and other other adjective used to demonize the 9/11 First Responders and victims of 9/11.

Senator Coburn went all out and wrote (pdf)

The federal government does not, have an obligation to provide for overly-generous, questionably-related, and fiscally-irresponsible benefits with a price-tag of $10.4 Billion. This legislation:
- Creates an expansive new health care entitlement program, despite multiple existing federally-supported health care programs for 9/11 first responders and victims; and
- Re-opens the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund (VCF), despite the fund’s original intent to be temporary in nature and a recent $815 million settlement that addressed gaps in compensation funding.

     Isn't that odd?  Senator Corburn says $10 Billion is just too much money for the 9/11 First Responders Healthcare --  isn't that very Unpatriotic and UnAmerican of those Republicans.

     I am reminded that the GOP fail to understand that Taxes pay for wars.  I also am reminded that the GOP Cut Taxes twice, 2001 and 2003, and thus had to borrow Trillions (with a T) from China to pay for two wars.  

      I am reminded that Romney/Ryan's Foreign Policy Advisers spent $$TRILLIONS searching for their imaginary WMD when they worked for Bush Cheney.

      I am reminded that Paul Ryan voted "yes" on Bush Cheney Tax Cuts - of which - in September 2003, Dick Cheney told Tim Russert that the "Bush Tax Cuts are 25% of the Deficit (Video here)

GOP LABEL 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER BILL "JOB KILLER"
      December 7, 2010 New York Daily News reported the Republicans were calling 9/11 First Responder Bill a "job killer."

      A GOP policy group infuriated 9/11 advocates last week by circulating a document casting the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act in ideological terms, saying it opens the door to fraud and would be a "job killer."       Among other falsehoods, the document suggests the $7.4 billion plan would tax U.S. firms, rather than the foreign companies it targets.

... maybe the 9/11 First Responders should have changed their pseudonym to Halliburton or KBR or some other private military complex corporation.

MITT ROMNEY, PAUL RYAN & GOP HYPOCRISY
      I always thought the emergency teams who responded to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were considered American heroes. The nation's support for these men and women has been unequivocal and unending ... except ... for Republicans whose support has a finite limit.

       Obviously Mitt Romney's statement, "America will never stop caring for the loved ones they left behind" is bullsh!t because, as I have outlined, his own running mate, Paul Ryan does not 'care' about the 9/11 First Responders and victims.  In fact, Paul Ryan stopped caring about America the night of January 20, 2009 when Paul Ryan plotted to sabotage the U.S. Economy.

        Here is a picture of Mitt Romney's real feelings about First Responders and this would be why Mitt Romney did not "Thank" the 9/11 First Responders in his statement today: