Gillibrand leads letter with Senators Schumer, Menendez, Booker and Blumenthal to call on OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to protect the World Trade Center Health Program

Gillibrand leads letter with Senators Schumer, Menendez, Booker and Blumenthal to call on OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to protect the World Trade Center Health Program

WTCHP provides monitoring and treatment to more than 83,000 first responders and survivors who became sick after exposure to toxins at World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville Crash Site; depends on the expertise from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Program, but Trump’s budget separates these two programs

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand led a letter with four Senate colleagues urging Office of Management and Budget Director, Mick Mulvaney to keep the World Trade Center Health Program housed in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. President Trump’s budget would move NIOSH from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the National Institutes of Health, which could take away resources from participants, including access to occupational health experts and support from the leading federal agency responsible for addressing work-related illness and injury. The WTCHP provides monitoring and treatment to more than 83,000 first responders and survivors who became ill after working at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Shanksville Crash site in response to the 9/11 attacks. NIOSH was originally authorized to oversee the WTCHP by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010.

“The strength of the World Trade Center Health Program comes from its full integration within National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and its ability to utilize the expertise of the Institute’s shared staff.” the senators wrote. “We are extremely concerned by the President’s FY19 Budget request to separate the WTCHP from NIOSH…. Separating the WTCHP from NIOSH, and moving NIOSH to NIH, is not only disruptive to the administration of the program, but will also have a direct adverse effect on the health and emotional well-being of the 9/11 community, many of whom spent countless hours working for Congress to reauthorize the program in 2015.”

Gillibrand was joined by U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

The full text of the Senators’ letter is available here.