9/11 News Items (2/1/26)
Arnold Korotkin
Below is the Statement issued by Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act on Senate Passage of Budget Bill that Fully Funds World Trade Center Health Program
We want to thank all of you who took the time to contact your Members of Congress to urge that the World Trade Center Health Program be fully funded to continue to provide care to 9/11 responders and survivors.
Statement on Senate Passage of Budget Bill that Fully Funds World Trade Center Health Program
Threat of Cuts to WTC Health Program Averted
Bipartisan efforts of Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, Congressman Andrew Garbarino, Speaker Mike Johnson, Chairman Brett Guthrie, secure critical World Trade Center Health Program funding formula fix.
Today the Senate followed the House in passing a new funding formula for the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) that will fully fund the program and avert threatened cuts in services to 9/11 responders and survivors.
The addition of this provision was made possible by the bipartisan efforts of Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), along with Congressmen Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Dan Goldman, (D-NY) Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Nick LaLota (R-NY), along with all the members of the New York delegation and Senators and Members of Congress from around the country.
This provision, added to the legislation, will make a substantial change to the WTCHP funding formula. That change resolves a projected funding deficit—due to rising health care costs and increasing numbers of responders and survivors coming forward to join program—that would have forced cuts in program services starting in 2027 for sick and injured 9/11 responders and survivors. The new formula provides substantially more funding for the program going forward and removes the threat to services.
Benjamin Chevat, Executive Director of Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, stated:
We’re grateful for the bipartisan efforts of Congressman Andrew Garbarino, Speaker Mike Johnson, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, along with Members of the House, Nadler, Lawler, Goldman, LaLota among others. Their work, along with the many 9/11 advocates and union members that walked the halls of Congress to push for this change, will remove the threat of impending cuts in services that would have started in 2027. The new funding formula provides substantially more of the funding for the program that it needs to be able to provide care for the 9/11 community.
While we will never rest until every 9/11 responder and survivor receives the care and monitoring that they need and deserve, the peace of mind brought by today’s vote is good news for those that depend on the program. The impending funding crisis has been averted.
You can view statement on our website here .
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Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act Inc. |