Today, Representatives Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Dan Goldman (NY-10) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, regarding the ongoing instability at the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP).

They were joined on the letter by Representatives Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), John Mannion (NY-22), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), George Latimer (NY-16), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Laura Gillen (NY-04), Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Grace Meng (NY-6), Joseph Morelle (NY-25), and Josh Riley (NY-19). 

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.

In the letter, the Members write, “Since January, the Trump Administration has attempted to fire critical WTCHP staff at least three times. In each instance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reversed course only after facing intense public backlash.”

The Members continue, “We are deeply disturbed by reports that, beginning in April, the WTCHP was functionally paralyzed. The program reportedly halted new member enrollments—including more than 800 eligible 9/11 responders and survivors—and left over 1,200 condition certifications in limbo. This backlog prevented clinics from initiating critical cancer treatments and other essential care. The abrupt removal of Dr. John Howard and 16 key staff members, followed by misleading public statements from HHS denying those very terminations, has seriously undermined public trust in the agency’s stewardship of this lifesaving program… Our 9/11 first responders and survivors deserve honesty, stability, and respect—not chaos and deception.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.