Gov. Kathy Hochul has called on Donald Trump to reverse the cuts his administration has been making to the World Trade Center Health Program.
The WTC Health Program was created to ensure that first responders receive timely medical monitoring, rapid certification of 9/11-related illnesses, specialized treatment, and family support and survivor benefits. Beginning early last year, the Trump administration started gutting the staff of the program leaving fewer than 85 employees to oversee the roughly 140,000 survivors of the 9/11 cleanup who have enrolled in the program.
Proponents of the program point out that many 9/11-related cancers progress rapidly, and any delay in certification or treatment approval can mean the difference between early intervention and advancement of the disease. To date, more first responders have died from 9/11-related illnesses than the 2,974 people killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
After Elon Musk’s DOGE team made cuts to the 9/11 Health Program that brought about a huge outcry and pressure to reverse what had been done, the Trump administration promised it would restore the program to the way it was. However, the administration did not make good on its promise and under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to chip away at the program.
“The World Trade Center Health Program is a lifeline for the survivors and first responders who answered the call almost 25 years ago and afterward without hesitation — and they deserve the same support from their government today,” Hochul said. “Reducing staff for an essential health program that has already faced drastic cuts in order to support an out-of-control enforcement agency with a history of failing to protect Americans is reprehensible. Our first responders and their families deserve better.”
Some of the people who were working for the WTC Health Program have been reassigned personnel to other federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, “The New York State Police are deeply concerned by any action that reduces the capacity of the World Trade Center Health Program. We have lost 41 members to 9/11-related illnesses, and many more continue to face serious health conditions tied to their service. This program is a lifeline for first responders and their families. Maintaining its full strength is essential to ensuring timely care and honoring our commitment to those who served.”
New York State Public Employees Federation President Wayne Spence said, “The Public Employees Federation strongly condemns the Trump Administration’s decision to reassign staff at the World Trade Center Health Program to roles with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a union that lost 34 members during the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, we take this personally. Survivors and first responders — many of whom were family members of 9/11 victims — were promised access to free medical monitoring and treatment as they struggled with illnesses caused by their exposure at Ground Zero. They deserve a health care system that is fully staffed, funded, and focused on their needs—not one hollowed out and redirected for unrelated political priorities. How does this decision ‘Make America Great Again’?”
