Advocates say the Trump administration's shakeup of the federal workforce has reduced staff at the World Trade Center Health Program.
The WTCHP, which provides health care and screenings for tens of thousands of survivors of the 9/11 attacks, has lost at least 16 workers, according to Citizens for the Extension
of the James Zadroga Act. The group advocates for first responders and others who were exposed to toxins after the attacks.
A spokesperson for the WTCHP did not respond to a request for comment.
The reported staffing cuts come as President Donald Trump works to shrink the size of the federal workforce as part of a campaign against governmental waste, fraud and abuse.
The move has ignited opposition among Long Island lawmakers of both parties.
"[The WTCHP] has provided lifesaving health monitoring and treatment to thousands of 9/11 first responders, impacted area residents and workers and survivors all across the country in every state and in 434 of 435 Congressional Districts for nearly 15 years," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) wrote in a letter urging the administration to reverse course. "It is extremely worrisome that the Trump administration's proposals to cut federal employees indiscriminately will have a direct impact on the quality and accessibility of care provided to those who answered the call on 9/11 and are now sick with respiratory ailments, cancer and other conditions."
The pair called the staffing cuts “reckless," while across the aisle, U.S. Representatives Nick LaLota (R-NY-01) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-02) expressed "grave concerns" about the WTCHP's ability to continue research on the long-term health effects of toxic exposure after the attacks in their own letter to Trump.
"While we commend your effort to hold our government’s workforce to a higher standard of conduct, we implore you to ensure that any overall workforce reduction... is done in a targeted manner to not impact the vital functions of the program," Garbarino and LaLota wrote.
