NY Senators Fed up With Trump Cuts to 9/11 Health Program

U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday blasted the Trump administration’s decision to slash staff that provide critical support for the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), which offers medical monitoring and treatment for first responders and survivors diagnosed with 9/11-related health conditions.

The cuts include the dismissal of Dr. John Howard, the administrator of the WTCHP, who makes critical decisions regarding covered conditions and ensures the WTCHP complies with statutes enacted by Congress, according to a press release. 

“This is the third time in four months that Trump has pulled the rug out from 9/11 survivors and their families in the World Trade Center Health Program. These instances are not “mistakes, but rather in purpose and it is outrageous and beyond the pale," Schumer said. "This callous treatment of our 9/11 heroes must end and the vital workers who staff it must be rehired. President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Robert] Kennedy, let me be perfectly clear: get your hands off the 9/11 workers’ health program and reverse these cuts immediately."

According to 9/11 health care advocates, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which runs under the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, protects all workers from firefighters to health care workers, and many functions of the WTCHP depend on NIOSH.

For example, the WTCHP staff does not have any doctors and WTCHP staff are not able to file petitions for new conditions to be covered by the program, so they rely on NIOSH staff for these functions. Without Dr. Howard and NIOSH, the WTCHP will be rendered effectively inoperable, the advocates said.

The New York senators said these firings are disrespectful to 9/11 survivors and first responders everywhere.

"Now, once again, President Trump is abandoning the heroes who stepped up and risked their lives in one of our nation’s darkest hours, Gillibrand said. "He clearly either didn’t get the message, or worse, just does not care. It’s an outrageous betrayal of ‘never forget’ and will not rest until this un-American decision is reversed.”