Tenth of World Trade Center Health Program staff fired or resigns, advocate says

WASHINGTON — The World Trade Center Health Program lost about a tenth of its staff after the Trump administration Friday fired all probationary employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, according to an advocate close to the program. 

Twelve probationary staff members lost their jobs Friday and several others have accepted the Trump buyout offer, shrinking the program’s 130- to 140-member workforce, according to Ben Chevat, executive director of 9/11 Health Watch, who said he heard about it from program staff.

“This means that services to 9/11 responders and survivors will be impacted,” Chevat told Newsday, creating delays for expanding coverage for autoimmune and cardiac conditions, certifications for cancers and other conditions, and service improvements for members.

The World Trade Center Health Program press contact did not respond to a query.

The news of the program’s staff cuts raised concerns and questions among lawmakers, its longtime supporters and advocates, and the thousands of first responders, survivors and others affected by the al-Qaida terrorist attack two decades ago.

The Trump administration fired roughly 5,200 probationary Department of Health and Human Services employees Friday afternoon, The Associated Press reported, citing an audio recording of a National Institutes of Health department meeting. The WTC Health Program falls under that department.

Congress created the WTC Health Program in 2011. It now provides care for more than 132,000 first responders, survivors and others affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, many of them suffering from cancers and other ailments. The staff also conducts research.

The cuts to its staff come after the program expanded just five months ago, including not only the first responders and survivors from the attack and aftermath at the World Trade Center site, but also those affected by the terrorist attack on the Pentagon and the hijacked airliner crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

This is the second blow dealt by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, to the WTC Health Program.

In December, Musk complained about the size of a short-term spending bill negotiated by both parties in Congress. Trump demanded that lawmakers shrink it. The resulting bill cut the measure that addressed a projected shortfall of $3.5 billion over time for the health program.

Lawmakers in both parties issued statements to Newsday that expressed dismay and concern about Friday’s staffing cutbacks.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), the House sponsor of the program’s funding bill, said he has reached out to the White House to emphasize how critical the program is.

“The World Trade Center Health Program and its vital mission must be preserved. That means ensuring it continues to have the staff and resources needed to care for our 9/11 heroes and survivors,” Garbarino said.

In a joint statement, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the Senate sponsor of the bill, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “The Trump administration must come clean with whatever dirty deal they have planned for a health fund that should be about taking care of our 9/11 heroes — nothing more, nothing less.”

Calling the health program “vital and essential,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said, “I fully support rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, but Musk’s and the administration’s zeal must be tempered by some common sense, and the need to protect essential services.”

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) said, “It’s vital that spending reforms not only help close Washington’s $2 trillion deficit and fight inflation but also protect essential services, including the World Trade Center Health Program.”

He added, "I am actively engaging with the Administration to guarantee that recipients of the WTC Health Program experience no reductions in services."

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) said, "This is unacceptable." 

She added, "I'm deeply concerned not only by this action, but [about] the lack of a path forward on a permanent funding plan for the WTCHP. We must ensure that no one in the 9/11 community, including nearly 7,000 of my constituents in New York's Fourth Congressional District has to worry about affording the health care they deserve."