The Department of Health and Human Services is restoring staffing levels at a federal health program for 9/11 first responders and survivors after bipartisan pressure from New York lawmakers, according to exclusive reporting Wednesday from the New York Post.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, both D-N.Y., that the World Trade Center Health Program has been approved to hire 37 more employees, moving toward a target of 120 full-time staff.
The program's workforce had dropped to 84 following a hiring freeze and broader cost-cutting measures.
Gillibrand welcomed the decision, emphasizing the government's obligation to those affected by the attacks.
"9/11 first responders and survivors put their lives on the line when our nation was in its darkest hour," she told the Post.
"The World Trade Center Health Program serves as our commitment to them to address their resulting health care needs."
"I am pleased that WTCHP is staffing back up so they can serve our country's heroes and treat the many illnesses they now suffer due to their bravery on 9/11," she added.
In a March 23 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Gillibrand and Schumer warned that staffing reductions were already disrupting care.
"While some staff have been rehired, not all have been allowed to return to work, and several individuals supporting the program's work have been reassigned to other agencies without explanation," the senators wrote.
They detailed the consequences of the cuts, citing "delays in claims processing," "the disruption of treatment authorizations," and "delays in the appeals process for program enrollment denials," which in some cases forced patients to wait up to a year.
The lawmakers also pointed to delayed research funding for conditions tied to toxic exposure at ground zero.
"We are seven months away from the 25th anniversary of that tragic day," Gillibrand and Schumer wrote. "You must allow the World Trade Center Health Program to do its job."
More than 140,000 people are enrolled in the program, including over 30,000 who joined in the past three years.
The staffing reversal follows the passage of a $3 billion funding bill earlier this year to address a budget shortfall, which President Donald Trump signed into law.
Kennedy also acknowledged the problem earlier this month, saying, "We're fixing it."
The episode highlights a broader dynamic in the Trump administration's push to curb federal spending.
While agencies have pursued workforce reductions and hiring freezes, some cuts have been reconsidered after scrutiny from lawmakers exposed unintended impacts, particularly on high-profile or mission-critical programs such as the World Trade Center Health Program.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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