AP
June 5, 2008
WASHINGTON - As President Bush's health chief, Tommy Thompson was criticized for not doing enough to help workers exposed to toxic debris on 9/11.
Now, a company he leads has won an $11 million contract to treat some of those workers who responded at Ground Zero.
The contract awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is aimed at tracking the health of between 4,000 and 6,000 workers who live outside the city. The CDC is part of the Health and Human Services Department, which Thompson headed in Bush's first term.
Internal e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show that the one-year contract went to Logistics Health Inc., a La Crosse, Wis.-based company where Thompson is president.
"It is ironic that former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson's firm won the contract to provide the services, given the history of delay from the Bush administration when he was secretary and now," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). "But I am glad these heroes are finally getting the help they deserve."
