Press Releases
Rep. Nadler, Rep. Goldman, and 17 Tri-State Area Representatives Call on HHS Secretary Kennedy to Reverse Reckless Staffing Terminations to the World Trade Center Health Program and Restore All Related Grant Funding
Washington,
February 21, 2025
Washington, DC – Today, Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Grace Meng (NY-6), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Yvette Clarke (NY-11), Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Nydia Velázquez (NY-7), George Latimer (NY-16), Laura Gillen (NY-4), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Josh Riley (NY-19), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Gregory Meeks (NY-5), and Joe Morelle (NY-25) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, urging him to reverse the rash staffing terminations to the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) and restore all related grant funding and research immediately.
The WTCHP provides essential medical monitoring and treatment to over 137,000 responders and survivors from the World Trade Center and lower Manhattan, the Pentagon, and the Shanksville crash site. The Members urge the Secretary to promptly rehire the terminated probationary staff, replace all positions where staff have taken buyout offers, and allow all research grants to continue so that 9/11 first responders and survivors can get the health care they need and deserve without delay.
In the letter, the Members write, “Last year, the WTCHP was authorized to increase staff count to 138 to handle 10,000 additional enrollments in the program. With the Trump administration’s cuts, the program now has just 73 staff members. These staffing cuts will lead to additional delays in the program, and as one former WTCHP employee said, ‘for some of these members, these delays are going to be life and death.’”
The members continue, “In establishing the WTCHP, the United States government made a promise to take care of the 9/11 survivors and brave first responders who risked their lives for this nation. It is apparent that President Trump and Elon Musk have no intention to honor that promise. In December, Elon Musk single-handedly tanked a bipartisan deal to make the WTCHP soluble through at least 2040. Now, President Trump and Elon Musk are attempting to dismantle what’s left of the WTCHP through staff terminations and grant rescissions.”
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