Trump's 'Dangerous' Plan For 9/11 Health Program Opposed By AG

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — The New York attorney general is urging federal lawmakers to oppose a proposal from President Donald Trump that would reorganize a critical health program for 9/11 survivors.

Eric Schneiderman penned a letter to Congress on Monday urging lawmakers to protect the World Trade Center Health Program, or WTCHP, from Trump's plans for its future. Trump has proposed separating the health program from National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, where the health program has been housed since it launched.

"Separating the WTCHP from NIOSH would be unnecessarily disruptive and potentially dangerous for the victims of the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor," Schneiderman said. "I urge you to do all that you can to block this unwise and potentially dangerous proposal in the President’s Budget."

Trump's budget proposal for 2019 called for the health program to be reorganized and separated from its longtime parent institute. Schneiderman and other advocates for 9/11 first responders have faulted the proposal and said it would weaken the health program, which frequently relies on the resources that health institute offers.

"The Administration has offered no compelling justification for its proposal to reorganize the management and administration of the WTCHP, which utilizes the expertise of staff in positions shared with NIOSH," Schneiderman wrote in the letter. "The Administration has also failed to explain how this change would be achieved without negatively impacting the health of the 9/11 responders and survivors who rely on the WTCHP for essential health care services."

The World Trade Center Health Program covers an estimate 83,000 people, all of them survivors or first responders to the 2001 terrorist attacks. The program provides critical health care to survivors as well as monitoring services for those exposed to the toxic dust at Ground Zero.

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