The World Trade Center Health Program, created for people who developed illnesses related to the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, faces an uncertain future as the Trump administration has overhauled it, reports NBC News.
"These cuts are going to potentially delay treatment, delay diagnosis and early detection of their cancers, and it's going to cost lives," said Todd Cleckley, a nurse medical specialist at Barasch & McGarry, a law firm representing 9/11 responders and survivors.
"The health program already operated on a very slim staffing margin," he added. "We're only beginning to see what those negative impacts will be."
The program, run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has roughly 132,000 enrolled in it. Sixty-four percent of those have at least one condition linked to 9/11, with cancer being the most common.
Since February, 32 staffers, plus the program's director, have been fired in the Trump administration's firing of probationary workers and laying off of federal employees. The director was reinstated on April 5 following outcry from lawmakers.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that his office has reached out to the federal government "about restoring these important resources."
"New York City is dedicated to providing quality health care to the heroes who responded on 9/11 and the survivors of the most tragic day in America's history," Adams said in a statement. "Our partnership with the federal government to deliver these services is vital, providing access to life-saving, time-sensitive treatment for every firefighter, police officer, volunteer, and everyday New Yorkers who remember that day, and remember what it took to rebuild the next morning."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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