Statement From Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act On the Announcement by the CDC, Rescinding the Cuts to the Staff of the World Trade Center Health Program Along With Restoring Research Grants That Had Been Terminated

Citizens for the Extension of the of the James Zadroga Act wants to thank President Trump for the CDC’s action in rescinding the cuts to the staff of the World Trade Center Health Program and ensuring that needed research on the impact of 9/11 on responders and survivors can continue.

We appreciate the swift action by President Trump, when he became aware of the impact that these cuts by DOGE would have had on health care of injured and ill 9/11 responders and survivors. We hope that we can also count on the President’s support in the effort to fix the long-term budget problems facing the program that will start in 2027.

Moving forward, we ask President Trump to instruct his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to ensure that the World Trade Center Health Program is protected from further cuts and or disruptions.

The program must be allowed to continue operations, to hire staff to its authorized levels, replacing those who took the administration buy out, continue its research on the impact of 9/11on the health of those exposed to toxic chemicals and, most importantly be fully funded and supported to continue its work of providing care for the 137,000 9/11 responders and survivors from the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Shanksville Crash site, who are in all 50 States and in 434 out of 435 Congressional Districts.

We especially want to thank Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) for his efforts and hard work to bring this issue to President Trump’s attention in a letter yesterday, along with his colleagues, Mike Lawler (R-NY), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Nick Langworthy (R-NY), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Tom Kean (R-NJ) and Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and all the others who have raised their bipartisan concerns about these cuts in staff and the programs ability to provide services to responders and survivors.