This week marks 20 years since the passing of NYPD Det. James Zadroga.

The 9/11 first responder died at the age of 34 from a respiratory disease attributed to toxic exposure from Ground Zero.

His illness is still changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people connected to the tragedy. A federal bill in his name, signed in 2010, provides medical treatment to survivors and created a Victims Compensation Fund.

How Zadroga's autopsy helped thousands of people

Leah Betso says her late father, NYPD Officer James Betso, was supposed to be off on 9/11, but he rushed to Ground Zero when tragedy struck and continued to work there for months.

"He loved the police department and his country," Leah Betso said.

He retired in 2002, but in 2012, she says her father had a seizure.

"Then they found the tumor in his brain. It was the glioblastoma," Leah Betso said. "My dad was a really tough guy, and we took it day by day."

She said because of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, her father was able to connect the illness to 9/11 and get treatment until his death in 2015.

Attorney Michael Barasch helped push for the bill's passage in 2010 with the Zadroga family. He said Zadroga's autopsy was pivotal for thousands of people, like Leah Betso's father.

"A 34-year-old man shouldn't die. He was totally healthy before 9/11, and in the autopsy, they found ground glass in his lungs," Barasch said. "We were able to use his autopsy results to convince NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, to link all these respiratory illnesses."

Health program needs more funding, attorney says

Today, Leah Betso works at Barasch's firm, which helps 9/11 survivors and first responders.

Through tears, she told CBS News New York the work is in honor of her father, as she recalled his last days.

"It was tougher to communicate with him, but I know that right now, in the position that I'm in ... I know that I'm making him really proud," Leah Betso said.

While a lot of progress has been made since Zadroga's passing, Barasch said trips to Capitol Hill are still necessary to fight for more work to be done.

"The health program needs more funding. And if they don't get that funding, they're in danger of not being able to take more patients after 2027," Barasch said.

He said the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 needs to be attached to the year-end budget, and the deadline for Congress to vote on it is this month.