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Senators Press HHS on 9/11 Health Program Delays as Funding Cliff Looms

Senators have given HHS until Oct. 10 to explain the program’s delays.

John Feal (C), 9/11 first responder advocate, speaks alongside Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and fellow first responder advocate, during a press conference on the World Trade Center Health Program at the U.S. Capitol on May 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.
A New York City firefighter walks away from Ground Zero after the collapse of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001 in New York.
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9/11 advocate groups are in the dark about the future of World Trade Center Health Program amid turmoil at the CDC, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy (inset). (Todd Maisel / New York Daily News; Getty)

Overview

  • Six Democratic senators sent a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seeking answers on stalled reviews and operations at the World Trade Center Health Program, setting an Oct. 10 deadline.
  • Advocates report average waits of about six months for initial appointments as staff levels have fallen and a hiring freeze remains in place, with senators noting a drop to roughly 80 staffers.
  • The program missed a March target to rule on petitions to add autoimmune, cardiac and cognitive conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, obstructive coronary artery disease and young-onset dementia.
  • A communications pause has kept the responder steering committee from meeting since January, though program emails indicated an expectation to rejoin external meetings in the fall.
  • Facing a multi‑billion shortfall, the program could start turning away new applicants in 2027 without a funding fix, prompting pushes for the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act and a New York City Council resolution urging Congress to act.