Steve Benen reacts to the news that Senator Tom Coburn is going to block the bill meant to cover the medical costs of emergency responders to the 9/11 attacks:
On Fox News this morning, Coburn said that the bill's prospects in the lame duck are "doubtful," adding that the proposal has been "drawn up and forced through Congress at the end of the year," and "this bill hasn't even been through a committee."
It's important to emphasize how very wrong Coburn is. The 9/11 health bill is only being rushed now because the session is almost over. It's been pending for over a year; it's already been brought to the floor once; and it would have been done a long time ago were it not for obstructionism from the likes of Coburn.
As Simon Maloy notes, Fox News has studiously avoided mentioning that Republicans in the Senate are the ones blocking the 9/11 responders bill, and, having grown habituated to Republican obstruction, most news organizations have avoided the issue. My guess is that if the bill is blocked in the lame duck, it'll pass easily next Congress and Republicans will turn around and note how terrible it was that Democrats failed to prioritize the health of the ailing rescue workers who came to their country's aid on 9/11.
