First responders, survivors and advocates from the 9/11 community lobbied Congress on Monday to support a critical health program gutted by the Department of Government Efficiency.
"I'm not a happy camper today," retired FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles told Scripps News on Capitol Hill Monday.
"But we're here to fight for restoration of the cuts that were made to NIOSH, the federal agency that oversees many programs, health and occupational safety for American workers and also the World Trade Center Health Program, which we fought for its installation for over 20 years," Alles added.
The program, which is run by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provides first responders and survivors with free annual health exams and treatment for 9/11-related health conditions.
Thousands of people like Alles had been exposed to toxins that swirled in the air after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Doctors at the WTC Health Program have linked those toxins to at least 69 cancers and other medical conditions. Alles is diagnosed with one of those cancers, prostate cancer, a disease that people like him are 25% more likely to be diagnosed with compared to the general population.
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The WTC Health Program lost hundreds of employees as part of major cuts carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency in February. Advocates like Alles, along with other first responders, survivors and advocates have warned that the cuts threaten to interrupt life-saving care for more than 130,000 people who are enrolled in the program. They are fighting to keep the program alive for thousands across the country.
Alles called the program's uncertain future a "national crisis."
"It's not a New York problem. The terrorists came in and crashed into the World Trade Center because that was a symbol of American democracy; it just happened to be in New York," he said.
"We had first responders that came from every state. First responders came from 433 of the 434 congressional districts. So it does impact every single state," Alles added. "We will be bringing the numbers from each state to whichever representative that we're speaking to let them know how many people in their state is affected by this program."
One of Alles's first meetings was with California Rep. Eric Swalwell's team. The group pointed out that 14 people in his district are in the program, as well as over 900 in the state of California. Alles told Scripps News he's hoping to get tangible support from lawmakers, including additional cosponsors for legislation that would secure long-term funding for the program.
