RFK Jr. And Trump Risk Health Of 9/11 Heroes With Callous Staffing Cutbacks
President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in Oval Office
New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a letter to newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday, condemning the recent “nonsensical and dangerous” 20% staffing cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program. The cuts jeopardize the ability to deliver health care to those suffering from 9/11-related health conditions, including respiratory ailments and cancers.
The letter urges Kennedy to reverse the staffing cuts and requests a briefing from the HHS and the CDC on the changes made to the WTCHP and their direct impact on the program's capacity to serve enrollees. The letter also called out Kennedy’s hypocrisy, citing a former conversation he had with the senators before his confirmation where he vowed to protect 9/11 access to care.
One of the first responders, John Feal, whose organization FealGood Foundation helps 9/11 responders access financial aid programs and treatment for 9/11-induced illnesses, appeared on New York’s News 12 on Sunday to speak out against the mass firing. Feal called the cuts “inhumane.”
"The World Trade Center Health Program is a lifeline to 137,000 people—9/11 heroes, volunteers, and those who lived, and worked and went to school in Lower Manhattan," Feal said. "And these people now who are dealing with severe respiratory illnesses, severe cancers—there's over 30,000 people with a certified cancer. That means when those people are cut and no longer work for the federal government, they cut 20% of that staff. That staff is responsible for certifying people's illnesses, that staff is responsible to ensure that there’s no fraud, that staff is responsible to ensure that research continues."
Feal added that he and a group of first responders and political leaders will head to Washington, D.C., next week to lobby for the $3 billion needed to fund the WTCHP through 2090.
Schumer took to X on Tuesday to tell his constituents he’s fighting on their behalf.
“The Trump HHS is breaking the sacred promise to always stand by our 9/11 heroes by slashing funding and vital staffing for their healthcare in the World Trade Center Health Program,” he said. “It’s unacceptable. I’m fighting to get Secretary Kennedy to reverse these cuts and firings NOW to provide for those who answered the call of duty on 9/11.”
This comes as Kennedy, under the direction of the White House and Elon Musk’s chaotic Department of Government Efficiency, fired an estimated 3,600 public health employees across the National Institutes of Health, CDC and Food and Drug Administration over the weekend, prompting employees to call it the “Valentine’s Day massacre.”
DOGE has taken it upon itself to gut the federal government. In less than a month, it has conducted mass firings or buyouts of government agency employees at the United States Agency of International Development, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Education, the FBI, and the CIA.
Whether it’s hypocrisy or pathetic fealty to Trump, courageous Americans who risked their lives to save others on 9/11 deserve the care they now need—not to be cast aside by a president and his billionaire ally intent on dismantling human decency.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
