NEW YORK — The World Trade Center Health Program, a critical lifeline for over 137,000 survivors and first responders of the 9/11 attacks, is facing significant challenges due to recent staffing cuts. On May 3, 16 doctors and staff members were terminated, according to the Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act.
The firings are part of a larger reduction in the workforce within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The advocacy group called the firings “an outrageous betrayal of 9/11 responders and survivors,” and listed questions about the future of the program for the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to answer.
At a press event in Manhattan on May 4, Sen. Chuck Schumer accused the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of breaking their promises to 9/11 victims, the New York Daily News reported.
“This is not a ‘Never forget,’ this is just, ‘We’re screwing the WTC victims. We don’t care about them,’” Schumer said. “This is not how we treat our 9/11 heroes.”
Patient care was stalled for weeks as World Trade Center Health Program director Dr. James Howard was left in limbo, reportedly unable to enroll new patients or approve treatment plans. At the end of April, three FDNY employees recently diagnosed with cancer were unable to receive treatment due to the delays, according to the New York Daily News.
A Health and Human Services official has since told doctors and administrators that services could resume. Dr. Howard was informed last week that he has been fully reinstated and now has the authority to certify illnesses and approve treatments, the Daily News reported.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also condemned the staffing cuts.
“He’s firing the people who actually administer the program, actually do the work,” Gillibrand said. “It’s an outrage what President Trump and Elon Musk and the DOGE boys are doing to a bipartisan, common-sense program that keeps our 9/11 heroes and family members alive. It is a disgrace. It’s outrageous, it’s un-American.”
Schumer and Gillibrand are urging Republican lawmakers to leverage their votes on Trump’s budget to push the administration to restore the program and are calling for the reinstatement of the fired staff members.
