DOGE cuts 9/11 survivors' fund, and Republicans join Democrats in rebuke

In a rare pushback against President Donald Trump, a coalition of congressional Republicans from the New York area rebuked the president for cuts to a federal program that administers aid to emergency workers and others suffering from toxins related to the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001.

In a letter to Trump, seven Republicans urged the president "as a native New Yorker who lived in New York City as it recovered from the 9/11 terrorist attacks" to reverse the cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program and rehire staff members who were fired several days ago.

They echoed the immediate outcry from Democratic lawmakers and advocates when the cuts were made beginning late last week, as part of Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is cutting spending and eliminating jobs across a wide swath of federal agencies. On Monday, New York's Democratic senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, issued a letter demanding the cuts be reversed.

The initial reaction from Republicans was more muted, but by Wednesday, as it became clearer that the blowback to the firings was widespread, the Republican resistance grew more vocal, especially from districts in and around New York City, where the memory of 9/11 still resonates powerfully.

"This staff reduction will only make it more difficult for the program to supervise its contracts and to care for its members who are comprised of the brave men and women who ran towards danger and helped in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks," the congressional members wrote in the letter.

It was largely written by Rep Andrew R Garbarino, a Republican from Long Island, and co-signed by five other Republican congressional colleagues from New York and Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey. The other congressional co-signers were Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler, Claudia Tenney, Nicole Malliotakis and Nick Langworthy, all supporters of Trump.

The World Trade Center Health Program's 90-member staff was reduced by about 20 per cent, as 16 probationary staff members who oversee and administer the program were fired and others took buyouts, according to congressional representatives, terminated employees and advocates for the program.

The program is overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, under the Department of Health and Human Services, which was recently taken over by Robert F Kennedy Jr, whom Trump named as secretary.

The cuts were part of widespread agency layoffs, in which several thousand probationary Health and Human Services workers were terminated last week.

The representatives also urged Trump to restore funding for research being done by the New York Fire Department that compares incidence rates of illness in their ranks with those of other urban departments -- a grant that was deemed "nonessential."

"This could not be further from the truth," the letter said.

Dr. David J. Prezant, chief medical officer for the Fire Department, said Wednesday that "this study is critical because without it, we cannot definitively prove that illnesses are World Trade Center-related."

The program provides vital medical care for its members and conducts research on the health impact of the attacks and related conditions.

Advocates say the cuts would delay new enrollment and make fewer staff members available to address patients' problems and assist with diagnoses and treatment.

"These cuts are really critical," said Anthony Gardner, 48, who said he received a termination notice Saturday. "They could really be the difference between life and death for some members.

"The team was already bare bones and understaffed to begin with, so I'm really hoping Secretary Kennedy looks at these cuts and hopefully reconsiders and prevents any further reductions," said Gardner, who handled communications for the program.

In their letter to Kennedy on Monday, Schumer and Gillibrand noted that when they met with him before his confirmation hearing, Kennedy had committed to ensuring that 9/11 emergency workers and survivors would continue to get necessary care. In the letter, they urged him to reverse "the rash and counterproductive termination" of staff members to ensure services for "those who answered the call on 9/11 and are now sick with respiratory ailments, cancer and other conditions."

The program, which now helps 137,000 members, was created by Congress in 2011 as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to provide treatment for emergency workers, cleanup crews and those living in lower Manhattan who were sickened by airborne toxins at ground zero.

It also includes those at the crash sites in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon.

The cuts would likely worsen an existing backlog to new entrants to the program, said John Feal, a retired construction worker from Long Island who was injured while helping with cleanup and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center in 2001.

"The cuts are reckless and inhumane -- they inflict more damage on survivors who have suffered for the last 24 years," said Feal, who partnered with the host of "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart, to lobby Congress members to support the compensation fund.

"Without it doing its job, people will die, it's that simple," Feal said of the fund. "If you have stage 3 lung cancer, you're going to wait longer to get your illness certified."

Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to messages Wednesday, nor did White House officials.

Benjamin Chevat, executive director at Citizens for Extension of the James Zadroga Act, called for the jobs to be restored and other halted operations restarted "so that 9/11 responders and survivors can get the care that they need and deserve without delay."

The cuts, he said, would reduce staff members' ability to respond to patient complaints and intervene on prescription and treatment issues.

Commissioner Robert Tucker of the Fire Department called the program "a lifeline to sickened 9/11 responders who selflessly gave so much."

He added, "This will hinder our efforts to provide treatment coverage for new conditions, which is a tragedy for all Americans who swore they would never forget."