Bush to WTC rescue workers: Screw you

New York lawmakers made a last-ditch appeal yesterday to stop the feds from taking back $125 million in unspent 9/11 relief money meant for workers injured at Ground Zero.

Standing with a delegation of disabled workers, they implored President Bush to honor the promise he made to help the city after the terror attack.

"To attempt a takeback of promised 9/11 aid shows how quickly Ground Zero workers are becoming forgotten heroes," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), who sounded the alarm last week over the vanishing money.

John Feal of Nesconset, L.I., who lost half a foot while supervising construction workers in The Pit, said he doesn't have the money to cover his medical bills. "The White House is wrong, the Bush administration is wrong, and shame on the President for letting this go on," Feal said.

"Abandoning our wounded responders is no different from leaving the wounded behind in combat," added Mike McCormick, a medic from Ridge, N.Y., who suffers from respiratory problems.

The House Appropriations Committee last night moved to cut the $125 million earmarked for workers' compensation and retraining - because it had not been spent. But the measure must still pass the House and Senate before the money would be lost.

Noting that disability claims of workers who toiled at Ground Zero were being denied at a rate 10 times higher than regular workers' claims, Sen. Hillary Clinton suggested that the money be "held in trust" until the claims can be sorted out.