WATCH: New 9/11 Health Care Bill Gets Bipartisan Support

LONG ISLAND, NY — Next month marks 23 years since the 9/11 attacks. Now, a group of bipartisan lawmakers in Congress, including Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, is sponsoring funding for 9/11 victims that would close the gap in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP).

"It's a lifeline, this World Trade Center Health Program," said Michael Barasch, a 9/11 survivor who has represented more than 40,000 members of the 9/11 community. "It saves lives."

The additional funding also researches the growing number of diseases impacting victims.

"The EPA lied to us five days after 9/11 by telling us the air was safe to breathe," Barasch said. "It wasn't safe to breathe."

Without the funding, new applications will begin to be turned away as soon as 2027.

"[It] is imperative that we get this funding and this bill get passed now," Barasch said.

Long Islander John Feal, who has been one of the leading voices for 9/11 health care legislation, said he's 19 for 19. He's confident in going 20-0 with Congress.

"Failure is not an option," Feal said. "It will take those from out of New York state and across the country to contact their members of Congress."

While first responders and others are "dying every day" from 9/11-related illnesses, Feal said the WTCHP staying open is "vital to the survival and longevity of those who are deathly ill, and we'll die fighting for it."

Watch the full "Patch Weekly Spotlight" with Barasch and Feal below.