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After tirelessly lobbying Congress since late summer, the first responders who spent months working at Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are set to finally receive lifetime medical care for the illnesses attributable to their time on "the pile." (Russert, Moe and Thorp, 12/15)

Congress appears ready to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, the federal legislation that provides benefits to 9/11 victims and first responders. The measure was included in the newest spending bill, which has been fiercely negotiated over the past several days. The bill could be voted on as early as Thursday. (Goldberg, 12/15)

The National Institutes of Health will get a $2 billion funding increase in the federal spending bill released early Wednesday, a big boost that could turn around the agency’s fortunes after years of stagnant budgets. It’s the first time the NIH budget would get such a large raise in more than 12 years — assuming the spending bill can get enough votes to pass Congress. And it comes after a year of growing momentum in which powerful Republicans and Democrats convinced their colleagues that medical science is ready to make good use of extra money. (Nather and Scott, 12/16)