Advocates seek to expand health program for 9/11 survivors. Here's what they want.
New York City and the nation are getting ready to mark 24 years since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
As the city honors the victims, advocates are calling on Congress to pass legislation to help ensure funding to care for first responders and survivors of 9/11.
New York City Council members, including Linda Lee, and first responder advocate John Feal joined other 9/11 heroes for a news conference Wednesday morning on the steps of City Hall.
Advocates push to update World Trade Center Health Program
The 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 would modify the World Trade Center Health Program by updating the formula used to determine the program's annual funding, and it would authorize mental health providers to conduct particular evaluations.
"The funding is absolutely crucial," Lee said. "Whether it's post-traumatic stress disorder or cancer treatment, we need to make sure that that funding is in place."
"Many of those are going undiagnosed, because either the adequate testing or the adequate funding isn't there for us to get this early detection that might have a better outcome. It's happening in very young people," James Brosi, president of the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Association, told CBS News New York. "Of the near-40 people that went on the [World Trade Center Memorial] wall yesterday, almost 10 of them were in their early 50s or mid-50s."
Advocates say the World Trade Center Health Program is a critical source of assistance for responders and survivors of 9/11. They say the current funding is not keeping up with the anticipated costs of the program's services.
"This program works, and it's a lifeline. This program saves lives," Feal said. "We say every year 'never forget.' We say it louder and louder every year, unfortunately."
"It's hypocrisy when you say 'never forget' when people are sick and dying," he added.
"The need has outpaced its funding"
"I wish I could tell you that I'm happy to be here today, but it is outrageous that we actually have to stand here to do a press conference to say to the government to do what is right," Councilmember Julie Menin said Wednesday. "The first responders went in to the pile, to Ground Zero, day after day after day with no protective equipment, and now thousands of them have died of cancer. It is totally outrageous that we have to be here to ask for funding of what should be promised to our first responders and to downtown residents, all of whom stayed and were assured the air was safe to breathe, when it clearly wasn't."
"The World Trade Center Health Program is a lifeline for more than 140,000 people across the country. It provides medical monitoring, cancer treatment, respiratory care and vital mental health services directly tied to Sept. 11, which for far too long has been overlooked," said Lee. "Congress has extended this program before, but the need has outpaced its funding, and without action, this program can not fully meet the demand."
"New data ... shows that 9/11-linked cancers have surged 143% in just the past five years. Almost 50,000 participants in the program have been diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer. My mother was one of them. She died eight years ago from a 9/11-related cancer," Menin added.
"If you get sick after 2027, and there will be people that get sick, they're not getting in the program. The World Trade Center Health Program will not take new patients," said Feal.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is also demanding Congress fully fund the World Trade Center Health Program in any upcoming funding package.
FDNY adds 39 names to WTC Memorial Wall
More than 400 FDNY members have now died of 9/11-related illnesses, compared to the 343 who were killed in the attacks.
The department added 39 names to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall on Tuesday, honoring those who died related to their work in the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero.
"We promise to 'never forget,' and we mean it," said FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. "God bless our fallen and their families. God bless all of our members who continue to suffer from World Trade Center illness."
Also Tuesday, crews tested out the annual 9/11 Memorial and Museum Tribute in Light, where two 48-foot boxes of light symbolize the Twin Towers. The lights will be on from dusk Thursday to dawn Friday.
CBS News New York will have live coverage of Thursday's memorial ceremony starting at 8:25 a.m.