World Trade Center Health program cuts a deep concern, Schumer and Gillibrand say

New York Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer joined advocates and labor leaders on Sunday to condemn the Trump administration’s layoffs at a health program that treats 9/11 survivors, saying the move could threaten care for first responders.

The Democratic senators and the other leaders, speaking at a news conference at Schumer's Manhattan office, demanded the rehiring of laid-off staff from the World Trade Center Health Program, that terminations stop going forward and that the White House improve its communication over personnel changes.

"We have said we'd never forget; these are heroes," said Schumer, the Senate minority leader. "Stop messing around with our heroes."

Last week, Dr. John Howard was fired as the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which administers the World Trade Center Health Program. He was then reinstated as the head of the WTC program, according to Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), who last week told Newsday his firing was a mistake.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is expected to lose roughly 850 of nearly 1,000 workers, The Associated Press reported, citing estimates from a labor union and impacted employees.

Earlier this year, 11 probationary staffers with the World Trade Center Health Program were terminated, before being rehired after bipartisan uproar, Newsday previously reported. And in March, a total of 16 staffers within the program were told they might lose their jobs, even though the Trump administration had promised the program would not be affected, according to prior Newsday reporting.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Garbarino said in a Sunday statement to Newsday that reinstating the administrator was the "first step, and now we are working to address any remaining concerns."

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) said in a statement that 25 years of "bipartisan budget neglect demand that both parties get serious about spending cuts."

"But when a cut goes too far — like the proposed reductions that harm the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) — there should be bipartisan pushback," he said.

Speaking at Schumer's office on Sunday, Gillibrand emphasized the potential harm of the staff cuts.

"And when you are firing the people who are running this program, who actually meet the needs of our 9/11 first responders and our family members, you're destroying their lives," Gillibrand said. "You're destroying their ability to get the care they need, and you're destroying the hope of their families that through treatment, they can survive these diseases."

Nearly 137,000 survivors of 9/11, including first responders sickened in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, take part in the World Trade Center Health Program.

On Sunday, several labor leaders and 9/11 advocates said they’ve heard concerns from program participants about the job cuts, and expressed their dismay.

Advocate John Feal, who worked as a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero and was severely injured, called out the Trump administration and its "fake patriotism."

Sean Michael, a board member with the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, a labor union that represents more than 6,000 active and former fire officers with the FDNY, said delays in treatment can be devastating for "vulnerable people facing some of the most difficult times in their lives."

"They are sick and dying as we speak," he said.

With Matthew Chayes and Laura Figueroa Hernandez and AP

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.