Trump and Musk Force Out One-Fifth of Staff at World Trade Center Health Program
The administration of President Donald Trump has downsized of the staff at the World Trade Center Health Program by at least 20 percent, according to a source who is directly familiar with the situation, but requested anonymity. The attrition consists mostly of personnel who have been laid off, while a smaller cohort consented (under apparent duress) to the early retirement offers pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
For the last 15 years, the Health Program has been providing (with bipartisan support) specialized care tailored to the 80-plus diseases (including more than 60 kinds of cancer) known to be caused by exposure to toxic debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Until last week, the roughly 140 staff members of the federal Centers for Disease Control assigned to the World Trade Center Health Program had been spared the firings that have plagued much of the rest of the executive branch workforce since Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
“These cuts will do serious damage to the WTC Health Program,” the source who spoke to the Broadsheet said. “We don’t think the administration understands the impact of these cuts for September 11 responders and survivors, or intends the harm that will result. Terminations of 20 percent of this team will quickly translate into a cascade of adverse consequences for the Health Program’s operations at many levels. Among the most immediate will be delays in certifications for care and delays in the delivery of care.”
Another effect of any reduction in staff or funding for the Health Program may be to curtail the research the organization conducts to meet emerging September 11 health needs in the future. One case in point in this category is that the Health Program has only recently begun to study the effects of environmental toxins on survivors who were small children at the time of the attacks, and were present in the immediate vicinity. (According to official tallies, there were 41 elementary, middle, and high schools operating in the exposure zone – roughly, Manhattan south of Houston Street – on the morning of attacks, as well as dozens of private preschools, as well as multiple colleges and universities.)
A second tranche of people harmed by these cutbacks may be those suffering from diseases not yet covered by the Health Program, but under serious study for inclusion because statistical evidence points to a correlation. The dozen-plus conditions in this category include rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sjogren’s Syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, mixed connective tissue disease, myositis, scleroderma, ankylosing sapondylitis, anti-phospholipid syndrome, sarcoidosis, and granulomatosis. Decisions on whether to extend Health Program coverage to at least some of these conditions were originally slated to be announced in March, but now may be delayed.
“Studies are needed to better understand how the unprecedented toxic exposures harmed responders’ and survivors’ health,” the source adds, “especially since some September 11-related conditions don’t respond to standard care. Ending funding for ongoing studies will amount to a denial of the kind of care that sick responders and survivors need and deserve – and were promised by the United States Congress and a succession of Presidents, including President Trump.”
Lower Manhattan resident Mariama James, who is a survivor of the September 11 attacks and has acquired a reputation as a zealous advocate for services to people affected by the disaster, said, “the dismissal of at least 20 percent of the Health Program staff poses a serious risk to survivor and first responder patients, particularly those who are most vulnerable. Reduced staffing levels will make it harder for patients to access timely care, especially for a growing number of those with chronic conditions or complex medical needs, entailing serious consequences for their health and well-being. We can assume it will mean longer wait times for enrollments, diagnoses and certifications. Treatment will inevitably be delayed, as well.”
Ms. James continued, “I urge the administration and all decision-makers on this disastrous plan to please reconsider and prioritize the health needs of September 11 terrorist attack survivors and first responders by ensuring adequate staffing levels. Never forget.”
Benjamin Chevat, executive director of 911 Health Watch, a nonprofit that seeks to ensure the Federal government’s continued, long-term commitment to the health and well-being of September 11 responders, survivors and their families, said, “these cuts, which are immediate, mean that services to 137,000 September 11 responders and survivors will be impacted. Not only have we been informed about the cuts to the staff, but we have also been told that research grants that are part of the Zadroga Act are being terminated.”
As an example, he cites a grant from the Centers for Disease Control (which oversees the Health Program) to the New York City Fire Department to compare disease incidence among its personnel with three other urban fire departments. “This is the best way to definitively prove that any new conditions are World Trade Center-related and therefore should be added by the program to covered conditions. This will severely hinder the Fire Department’s effort to provide members with treatment coverage for new, September 11-related health conditions, that are increasingly affecting FDNY members.” That grant was cancelled last week, under the rationale that it “was determined to be non-essential because the outputs from the [grant] are not statutorily required.”
“We cannot believe that the Trump Administration or the new Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr., intends to harm September 11 responders and survivors in the Health Program,” Mr. Chevat continued, “but that will be the outcome of these cuts.”
“The firing of the World Trade Center Health Program staff needs to be reversed and all positions where staff have taken the buyout need to be replaced,” Mr. Chevat concluded, “and research grants need to be allowed to continue, so that September 11 responders and survivors can get the care that they need and deserve without delay.”
The population affected by cuts to World Trade Center Health Program is considerable, with 132,091 people currently covered in all 50 states. In recent years, the number of people made sick (and eventually killed) by exposure to toxic debris from September 11 has surpassed the tally of people who died on that day, and the preponderance of newly diagnosed illness has shifted toward the survivor community (defined as those who lived, worked, or attended school, or child or adult day care facilities within the eligibility zone during the specified time period), rather than first responders (such as fire and police personnel).