FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Posted: May 3, 2025
Contact:
Benjamin Chevat
Ben.Chevat@renew911health.org
Last night, 16 World Trade Center Health Program staff were fired.
Since the Trump Administration started, a quarter of the WTCHP staff are now gone.
This is an outrageous betrayal of 9/11 responders and survivors.
While the World Trade Center Health Program is apparently back providing treatment to 9/11 responders and survivors who were just diagnosed with cancer, after earlier denying treatment, the question is for how long?
Secretary Kennedy must answer the following questions:
- Why did you just fire sixteen WTCHP program staff after saying they would not be fired?
- Why was there an interruption in services this week for those newly diagnosed with 9/11 conditions—especially cancer treatment?
- Why were enrollments into the program stopped for weeks?
- Is Dr. Howard back at his job or not?
- For how long?
- What’s going to happen to the Director after June 2?
- You and your staff have been saying that your reorganization has not had an impact of services, how can you still say that?
- How can your HHS press office flat out lie about these terminations?
The events of this week are beyond disturbing.
As we reported in our statement of April 30th, Dr. David Prezant, Chief Medical Officer, Director, FDNY World Trade Center Health Program, was not able to provide cancer care starting on Monday, April 28th, to members of his clinic who had developed cancer because the WTCHP program would not let him. Not only Dr. Prezant, but all of the NY-area clinics, reported that they could no longer provide treatment for new cancer cases.
Coverage:
9/11 health program hobbled by cuts despite Trump vow to restore funds
NY Daily News April 30, 2025, as well as many other publications
9/11 healthcare: When will World Trade Center program cuts be restored? What we know now Rockland/Westchester Journal News, May 1, 2025
As health program stalls and certifications stop, some critically ill 9/11 responders are left without care, ABC News, May 1, 2025
But not only was the WTCHP denying care to existing 9/11 responders and survivors who need treatment after developing cancer, apparently the program had stopped enrolling new members seeking treatment and services since April 1 (perhaps as many as 800 responders and survivors).
Hundreds of 9/11 responders and survivors who met program criteria and were seeking to enroll in the program were denied enrollment.
Now, just last night, the 16 WTCP staff that had been given notice that they would be terminated, the same staff that HHS said would not be fired, were in fact fired.
“Kennedy, who in February reversed the layoffs of the WTC Health Program’s probationary staffers, told ABC News Thursday that studies and staff that were cut this past week that should not have been cut will be reinstated. By Friday neither Kennedy nor his department had reinstated Howard or other department staffers whose work is essential for the WTC Health Program.
HHS deputy press secretary Emily G. Hilliard said in an emailed statement, ‘All statutorily required programs will remain intact, and as a result of the reorganization, will be better positioned to execute on Congress’s statutory intent.’”
– “Trump administration cuts claim 16 jobs at World Trade Center Health Program,” Newsday, April 9, 2025.
Even just today, HHS press office is lying about these terminations.
“@CBSNews got it wrong. No CDC employee was terminated on Friday. A required notice was sent to NIOSH employees, following the agreed-upon standard process with the union. Firefighter health and safety programs remain a top priority for HHS, @SecKennedy and @POTUS. As the agency continues to streamline operations, the essential services provided by NIOSH will remain fully intact and uninterrupted.“
What we know today:
Every NIOSH employee in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Morgantown and Spokane who work on the WTCHP has been terminated effective immediately. They were told not to show up at work on Monday. This includes the 16 WTCHP staffers, 13 in Cincinnati (OH) and 3 in Morgantown (WV).
Here is a copy of a redacted notice, dated May 2, 2025, that one of the program staff received.
The notices received last night say this is effective April 1. They are now on administrative leave so they will not be going into the office anymore, and they will all be terminated either on July 2 for bargaining unit staff members or June 2 for management.
While the program has stopped denying care to new cancer patients, has apparently started to formally sign off on over 1,200 pending condition certifications that have been pending and will be enrolling the 800 pending 9/11 responders and survivors that have meet program requirements and have been waiting to be enrolled, no explanation has been provided as to why this occurred. Or even an admission that it had happened.
What was the reason for the denial of care to 9/11 responders and survivors?
It all stems from Secretary Kennedy and DOGE firing Dr. John Howard as the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on April 1st, along with the NIOSH and CDC staff that support the WTC Health Program.
After the uproar from that action in the first week of April, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and colleagues were told by HHS that Dr. Howard was being restored—which Garbarino and company announced in good faith—but the truth is he was not restored as Director of the WTCHP and has apparently been in limbo since then, part of a reduction in force that will take full effect June 2nd.
An internal email from the program on April 11th clearly documents that Dr. Howard’s status was in question just days after his supposed reinstatement, and that was preventing the program from functioning.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to resume sending program letters, including enrollment or certification letters. We are still waiting on confirmation of Dr Howard’s status.”
— WTCHP Internal Email, April 11, 2025
You can see from the internal email linked above that Dr. Howard was in limbo —that there was an issue with his “status” which subsequently caused a cascade of problems for 9/11 responders and survivors seeking care in April. Delaying enrollment for hundreds of responders and survivors, and delaying certificates for members with new cancers and other conditions.
At the same time, the HHS press office has been completely unresponsive to reporter inquiries seeking confirmation that Dr. Howard was in fact restored.
“HHS in its statement also did not respond to a specific request about the employment status of NIOSH Director and 9/11 health program administrator Dr. John Howard. The news of his apparent dismissal in early April drew sharp criticism; while it’s been reported that he has returned, there was no verification that he is back.”
– “World Trade Center Health Program: Do Trump cuts imperil sickened responders? What we know,” Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
As this problem regarding enrollments and approvals for care was being questioned inside the program, HHS press staff continued to deny there was an issue.
“The World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program’s Clinical Centers of Excellence and Nationwide Provider Network are continuing to provide services to program members at this time. The program continues to accept and review new enrollment applications and certification requests…”
– “‘We’re all ticking time bombs’: Budget cuts gut 9/11 health protections as community braces for crisis Staffing cuts may prevent a 9/11 health care program from providing timely care,” Liz Neporent, ABC News
So, what happened between April 11 and April 28 when the clinics were told to stop providing treatment for new cases, including cancer?
Clearly there were issues.
All we know is that immediately after the uproar from the public because of the program shutting down cancer care for new patients, something happened.
9/11 health program hobbled by cuts despite Trump vow to restore funds NY Daily News, April 30, 2025
9/11 healthcare: When will World Trade Center program cuts be restored? Rockland/Westchester Journal News, May 1, 2025
As health program stalls and certifications stop, some critically ill 9/11 responders are left without care, ABC News, May 1, 2025
We know this from the internal WTCHP email indicating that enrollments and approvals for cases would begin to be processed again allowing for a resumption of the program’s work.
“We are able to resume processing enrollments, certifications, and letters at this time. Expedites have also been processed.”
— WTCHP Internal Email, May 1, 2025
We also know from Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), who has been fighting for the program said in a statement on May 1, 2025.
“Any questions about Dr. Howard’s authorities as Administrator have been resolved — as confirmed directly with Dr. Howard himself. Now, enrollments and certifications that were left in limbo must be addressed immediately. I will continue to press for a full resolution to Dr. Howard’s status before June 2. Let me be clear: anything that jeopardizes care for 9/11 responders and survivors is indefensible.”
So, it seems likely that Dr. Howard’s status has been resolved, but only through June 2. But what happens after June 2?
Here is what we know as of today:
Certifying WTC conditions for treatment—including cancers—had stopped. We know that every month on average the program certifies for treatment of over 1,200 conditions, including cancer. While the program has restarted certifying conditions, it had been stopped for over a month since Dr. Howard was fired.
Enrollment in the program for responders and survivors had been stopped. According to the email, enrollment has restarted, which means it had stopped at some point. We believe it stopped on April 1;this means between 700 to 800 9/11 responders and survivors seeking medical treatment were denied entry to the program.
Compensation for injuries will be delayed. When a member’s condition is “certified” by the WTCHP, that allows the responder or survivor to file a claim with the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). This one month freeze in letters will result in a delay in the compensation process.
We also still have all the issues caused by the firing of WTCHP and CDC, NIOSH staff that support the program mission.
WTCHP staff have been fired. While the administration has stated that none of the remaining 86 staff members of the WTCHP would be fired, that is not accurate. In fact, 16 WTCHP staffers, 13 in Cincinnati (OH) and 3 in Morgantown (WV), have received termination notices effective immediately.
NIOSH and CDC staff that support the WTCHP have been fired. The WTCHP had been supported by dozens of NIOSH and CDC staff who have been fired. WTCHP cannot operate without them. They include doctors who are required by statue to approve certification for treatment, staff that approve enrollment of new responders and survivors, staff that supervise research grants and contracts, staff that process bills from clinics, and epidemiologists who review petitions for covering new conditions. They are still fired.
The loss of staff is impacting the program today:
Program bill payments are being delayed. Bills from clinics for services provided are being delayed in payment, since much of the staff that process these have been terminated.
Contract oversight staff fired. It appears that the CDC Contracting Office and the Extramural Grants Office that supported WTCHP have all been fired as well. Since the WTCHP utilized CDC staff to administer all contracts and grants, these firings will impact the ability of the WTCHP health providers and researchers to deliver services to 9/11 responders and survivors. In addition, there is now no direct oversight of program contractors – hardly a good way to fight waste, fraud and abuse, or if you actually care about running an effective program.
Petitions for the addition of new WTC health conditions will not be considered. Under the Zadroga statute, a “petitioning” process is used to add additional conditions to those covered by the WTCHP. Petitions were reviewed by NIOSH staff epidemiologists—who have been fired—and there are several pending petitions covering additional conditions including autoimmune and cardiac conditions. The WTCHP had said last December that these petitions would be decided in March, 2025. That did not happen.
Research grants cannot be administered. The WTCHP used NIOSH staff to handle the administration of some $20 million in research grants, such as the work being done on the possible connection of 9/11 to cognitive decline, autoimmune cardiac conditions and other conditions have has been fired. Normally those grants start their RFP process in March, and that is not happening.
Communications pause. The continuing pause in all public communications by HHS has impacted many of the normal functions of the program and will delay research 9/11 conditions and improvements in the program to better serve the program members.
It is time for Secretary Kennedy to finally answer some questions:
Secretary Kennedy has made a lot of statements about how he is going to “deliver radical transparency”.
“During his first address to staff as Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called for a new era of ‘radical transparency’ at the department while pursuing his ‘main mission’ to ‘reverse the chronic disease epidemic in America.’ Acknowledging some of the lingering concerns about him, Kennedy, 71, pleaded with staff at the Department of HHS to ‘let go’ of their preconceived thoughts about him, while warning that ‘those who are unwilling to embrace’ transparency and openness ‘can retire’.
‘I’m not going to come in here and impose my belief over any of yours,’ Kennedy said. ‘My goal as secretary here at HHS will be to create a culture of competency, of ethics, of openness, of transparency, of caring, and of pride so that individuals who share these ideals can flourish and thrive.‘
‘We will make our data and our policy process so transparent that people won’t even have to file a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request.'”
– “RFK Jr. calls for new age of ‘radical transparency’ at HHS, tells critics they ‘can retire’,” New York Post
So given all of this and the fact that the HHS press office continually refuses to answer questions about Dr. Howard’s status and continues to lie and say that there are not issues with the World Trade Center Health Program, we have some questions for Secretary Kennedy:
- Why was there this interruption in services? Especially cancer treatment?
- How many were impacted by this interruption in services?
- Why had enrollments in the program stopped?
- How were many responders and survivors enrollment delayed?
- Can you assure us that there will NOT be any further denials of care to 9/11 responders and survivors?
- Was firing Dr. Howard on April 1 a mistake?
- Is Dr. Howard back at his job or not?
- Are you intending to still fire Dr. Howard?
- What is going to happen after June 2 ?
- Will Dr Howard be the Director of the WTCHP after June 2?
- Are you going to reinstate the 16 WTCHP staff that you just fired?
- Was their firing a mistake?
- Are you going to reinstate the NIOSH and CDC staff that support the WTCHP that you fired?
- Are you going to allow the program to hire to the authorized staffing level of 138?
- Why is your Press office continuing to misrepresent what is happening to this program?
If Secretary Kennedy can’t answer these questions, he will be showing the 9/11 community of responders and survivors, thousands of whom are still dealing with the impact of the toxic chemicals from 9/11, that he doesn’t really believe “Never Forget 9/11”.