Advocates say funding cuts are putting the World Trade Center Health Program at risk as the Trump administration works to downsize the federal government.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Advocates and survivors gathered Tuesday in Charlotte to rally support for the World Trade Center Health Program amid growing concerns that federal funding cuts could jeopardize care for thousands still suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.
The program, which launched in 2011, provides medical treatment to first responders and survivors exposed to toxic dust and debris following the Sept. 11 attacks. But its future is uncertain after staffing cuts tied to a federal workforce restructuring under the Trump administration, according to advocates.
“You made us a promise to always have health program coverage for us, and now it’s being taken away,” Michael Barasch, a managing partner with Barasch & McGarry, a law firm representing 9/11 responders and survivors, said. “They can’t do that.”
Barasch rallied survivors in Charlotte’s SouthPark neighborhood to voice concerns and urge lawmakers to safeguard the program, which has supported tens of thousands of people nationwide.
Among the survivors to attend was Van Tuley, a Fort Mill resident who says he served at the Pentagon in the aftermath of the attacks. He says he’s since undergone multiple cancer treatments — including for prostate and skin cancer — and worries about the future of his care.
“It’s concerning,” Tuley said. “There’s people that are just now getting signed up for it and can’t get treatment because of those cutbacks … If I need future treatments of anything, I don’t know if it would cover it or not.”
The cuts follow a move by the federal government to downsize staff at the Department of Health and Human Services — a process that included firing and rehiring program staffers, only to terminate some employees tied to the program again, according to advocates.
Attorneys and survivors are now calling on Congress to maintain funding and keep the World Trade Center Health Program operational through 2090.
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