{"id":108972,"date":"2025-02-19T18:03:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T18:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/trump-administration-cuts-to-cdc-will-affect-9-11-responders-critics-say\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T18:03:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T18:03:38","slug":"trump-administration-cuts-to-cdc-will-affect-9-11-responders-critics-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/trump-administration-cuts-to-cdc-will-affect-9-11-responders-critics-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration cuts to CDC will affect 9\/11 responders, critics say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Aaron Schwartz\/CNP\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(NEW YORK) — The Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the federal workforce affect the World Trade Center Health Program, putting the health of 9\/11 first responders at risk, critics said.<\/p>\n

Sixteen probationary staff members at the World Trade Center Health Program have been fired as part of the layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Several other full-time staff members have agreed to take a buyout, according to Citizens for the Extension of the\u00a0James Zadroga Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The firings and buyouts amount to a 20% reduction in the staff that supervises and administers the\u00a0World Trade Center Health Program<\/a>. There are also cuts to research grants that fund efforts at the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to determine whether new health conditions are related to service at the World Trade Center site on and after 9\/11.<\/p>\n

Decisions on certifications to allow for treatment of new cancers and other conditions will be delayed because of the firings and layoffs, Benjamin Chevat, of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, told ABC News. Additionally, decisions on pending petitions to expand coverage to autoimmune and cardiac conditions will be delayed and there will be fewer people to intervene when there are problems with prescriptions and treatment, according to Chevat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot believe that the Trump administration or the new HHS Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr. intends to harm 9\/11 responders and survivors in the World Trade Center Health Program, but that will be the outcome of these cuts,\u201d Chevat said.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., New York Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer demanded that the funds be restored.<\/p>\n

“\u2018Never forget\u2019 is not just a slogan. It is a sacred promise to always stand by 9\/11 heroes, a promise being broken by slashing funding and vital staffing for their healthcare in the World Trade Center Health Program. It\u2019s unacceptable, and un-American,\u201d said Schumer in a\u00a0joint statement<\/a>\u00a0with Gillibrand. \u201cTo say funding for 9\/11 first responders is government waste is outrageous and insulting.”<\/p>\n

“These brutal cuts mean layoffs for staff who have dedicated their careers to caring for our 9\/11 survivors. It means delayed care for our sick first responders. It is telling 9\/11 survivors that after they risked everything to protect us, we can\u2019t support their healthcare needs,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n

The World Trade Center Health Program was created in 2011 as part of the Zadroga Act. It was extended until 2090 to compensate the growing number of people who have contracted illnesses related to 9\/11.<\/p>\n

About 140,000 survivors have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, including about 12,000 last year alone,\u00a0according to the CDC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSlashing funding and laying off workers who run this vital program will have a devastating impact on its ability to provide sick responders and survivors with the care they need. This is betrayal of our heroes who stepped up and risked their lives to put our community back together in one of our nation\u2019s darkest hours, and we will not let it stand. HHS Secretary Kennedy must reverse these cuts and terminations immediately,\u201d Gillibrand said in the statement.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aaron Schwartz\/CNP\/Bloomberg via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the federal workforce affect the World Trade Center Health Program, putting the health of 9\/11 first responders at risk, critics said. Sixteen probationary staff members at the World Trade Center Health Program have been fired as partRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,31,2],"tags":[273,271,276,274,270,123,275,133,124,272,102,103],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108972\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}