Democrats Hold Inquiry on 9/11 Air Assurances

By RICHARD STEIER

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Jerrold Nadler plan to hold companion hearings into why the Bush Administration declared that the air in the vicinity of the World Trade Center site was safe to breathe a week after 9/11 despite a lack of evidence to that effect.

JERROLD NADLER: Suspects a cover-up.

The hearings were to begin on May 22 - the day this newspaper hit the stands - with an inquiry by Representative Nadler's House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Ms. Clinton, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health, will hold her hearing June 20.

Call Whitman to Testify

Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, who on Sept. 18, 2001 gave what the two officials characterized in a statement as "falsely reassuring and misleading statements" about air quality near Ground Zero, was among those invited to testify.

The panels also intend to explore the Bush Administration's continued failure to provide proper testing and cleaning of indoor spaces that were exposed to toxins released by the destruction of the World Trade Center, and the inadequate health care provided to thousands of workers and area residents who became ill after being exposed to the pollutants.

Senator Clinton and Representative Nadler noted that these would be the first comprehensive Congressional oversight hearings on those subjects, stating that in September 2003 the Republican leadership in both houses of Congress failed to respond to a request by Democratic officials to hold hearings.

"We need to examine what went wrong and assess whether the Federal Government is better prepared to respond to environmental hazards in future disasters," Senator Clinton said.

'Who Was Responsible?'

Representative Nadler predicted the hearings would provide "an opportunity to hear, on the record and first hand, who in the Federal Government was really responsible for key decisions about the handling of post-9/11 air quality. And from there we can finally learn why those decisions were made - decisions that are still having an impact on 9/11 victims today."

The hearings could also play a role in the maneuvering for advantage in the race for President. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the past has had to defend himself against charges that he downplayed concerns about air quality in an effort to keep the city's economy functioning by allowing for the swift reopening of Wall Street and other lower Manhattan businesses, and did not sufficiently emphasize the need for city workers involved in the rescue and recovery effort at Ground Zero to wear protective masks.

Mr. Giuliani has insisted that the city took all the precautions it needed to based on the information that was available at the time, and has pointed out that his frequent trips to Ground Zero meant that he was exposed to the same air as the workers at the scene.