As you’ll remember, in February, the administration restored their cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program’s budget, but new staff cuts threaten the program….once again.
Cut was Dr. John Howard, NIOSH Administrator including leading the World Trade Center Health Program—along with hundreds of NIOSH staff who perform critical health and safety missions.
(Related: NIOSH DIES IN THE LINE OF DUTY)
Dr. Howard, a President Trump appointee (reappointed to his 4th six-year term as Director of NIOSH by former HHS Secretary Azar in 2021) was terminated effective yesterday as part of Secretary Kennedy’s dismissal of hundreds of employees of NIOSH, effectively shutting down the critical worker safety mission of NIOSH and crippling the WTC program.
The cuts kill the program’s ability to adequately monitor and provide care to survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as well as people newly diagnosed with illnesses such as cancers and respiratory illnesses.
READ THE STATEMENT:
From The Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act:
SOME HOPE?
In what seems like “shoot, ready, aim”…there are claims that the White House has begun working to reverse the firing of Dr Howard and specialists who worked on the WTC program, Long Island Rep. Andrew Garbarino said earlier today.
Those key figures for the WTC Health Program, which provides services for 137,000 ailing 9/11 first responders and survivors, were among 10,000 employees who are being let go.
News of the firing of Dr. John Howard, the NIOSH & WTC Health Program director, and other NIOSH staff who worked with the program prompted a justifiably angry reaction from backers of it.
Garbarino said White House staff had a meeting with officials of the Health and Human Services Department. “I believe they’re having a meeting, I think, today, with HHS to try to fix it,” he said. “This is at the top of the list of issues that have to get rectified.”
Ben Chevat, executive director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, who has worked to create and maintain the World Trade Center Health Program, said, “We applaud Congressman Garbarino’s continuing efforts on behalf of 9/11 responders and survivors to get the White House to fix this, again. But you have to ask, why does it keep breaking?”
Chevat said since President Trump took office, he and his administration have dealt three setbacks to the WTC Health Program that its supporters have demanded to be addressed.
In February, the administration fired 11 WTC Health Program staff members who were on probation only to reverse course when met by strong protests from the New York delegation and other lawmakers in Congress.
