By Jillian Delaney
Staten Island Advance
NEW YORK — Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand are calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr . to reverse cuts impacting the staff of the World Trade Center Health Program.
About 20% of the staff was let go due to employee reductions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), which runs the WTC Health Program, a letter penned by Schumer and Gillibrand revealed.
“It is extremely worrisome that the Trump administration’s proposals to indiscriminately cut federal employees will have a direct impact on the quality and accessibility of care provided to those who answered the call on 9/11 and are now sick with respiratory ailments, cancer and other conditions,” the senators’ letter stated.
The letter continued on to detail that the health program serves at least 132,000 Americans across the country, all of whom were impacted by the deadly terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The program “has provided critical screenings, services, research and medications to thousands of Americans at zero cost for 9/11-related health conditions and diseases” since its 2011 inception.
For those who don’t know, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella was one of the four original authors of the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, from which the WTC Health Program was born.
The WTC Health Program is financially supported by the government through 2027 — but funding beyond that year was excluded from a federal continuing resolution passed in December 2024.
“In our meetings with you prior to your confirmation as secretary, you committed to working with Congress to ensure that 9/11 first responders and survivors continue to get the care they need. We ask that you uphold your commitment by reversing the rash and counterproductive termination of the WTCHP staff and provide answers to how you will ensure continuity of care for WTCHP enrollees,” the letter said.
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R — Staten Island / South Brooklyn ), who has been vocal in supporting the WTC Health Program, said this to the Advance/SILive.com in reference to the cuts:
“As part of President Trump’s efforts to make our federal government more efficient, some new hires and probationary employees across our federal agencies have been terminated, which include several at WTCHP and others who took the Administration’s buyout on their own accord. The program remains fully funded through 2027 and the recent cuts will not impact the coverage of beneficiaries. Ensuring the WTCHP is fully funded remains one of my top priorities and my New York colleagues and I are sending a letter to President Trump to ensure research grants related to 9/11 illnesses are preserved. The more savings we can find in the overhead and management of the program, the more money there will be available to help our 9/11 heroes and first responders who need it.”
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