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5d ago

Senators Press HHS Over 9/11 Health Program Delays and Funding Strain

Lawmakers want a firm HHS timeline for overdue condition reviews to avert an enrollment freeze projected for 2027.

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 asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to deliver updates by Oct. 10 on staffing, recent enrollments, and missed reviews to add potential 9/11‑linked illnesses.
  • The World Trade Center Health Program set a March deadline to evaluate adding autoimmune, cardiac, and cognitive conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, obstructive coronary artery disease, and young‑onset dementia, but no decisions have been announced.
  • Advocates report reduced staffing and a hiring freeze, with the Responder Steering Committee not meeting with federal officials since January due to a communications pause HHS says may lift this fall.
  • Survivors and attorneys say first appointments now average about six months, delaying diagnosis and treatment as enrollment tops 140,000 nationwide.
  • Advocates and New York City officials are pushing the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act, warning the program could turn away new applicants as soon as 2027 without a funding fix.