"I commend the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for recognizing that the federal government must ensure that screening, monitoring, and treatment are available for everyone who responded to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. These services are critical for identifying and addressing the health impacts of 9/11, including those that may emerge in the future. The report also points out that the ad hoc, unstable funding that the federal government has provided so far cannot meet the needs of the thousands of responders and others who participated in the City's recovery from the attacks.

"That is why I have called upon Congress and the Bush Administration to provide the resources needed to sustain screening, monitoring and treatment programs for everyone affected by the 9/11 attacks. The report notes that cost estimates of these effects are imprecise, but it also leaves no doubt that substantial federal resources are needed for the foreseeable future to make good on our commitment to care for those who are sick today - and to build the capacity to identify and respond to illnesses that may reveal themselves tomorrow. The federal government must act quickly to provide the resources for this urgent need."