In 2010, 2015 and in 2019, we asked members of the 9/11 Community to reach out to their Representatives in Congress to convince them to pass and extend the 9/11 Zadroga Health & Compensation Act. Thanks to your efforts, 99% of the members in Congress eventually voted in favor of the permanent extension of both the WTC Health Program and the Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).
Unfortunately, we need your help again.
The World Trade Center Health Program is facing an impending budget shortfall mainly due to the increased costs of medical inflation. As you know, 69 cancers (uterine cancer was the latest cancer added) and many respiratory illnesses have been linked to the WTC toxins. The costs of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation have skyrocketed. Unless Congress authorizes additional funding, new applicants may be denied enrollment in the health program starting in 2028 and services for current participants could be reduced in the years after that.
Congress has taken some steps to deal with the impending deficit. Additional funds were added by Senators Gillibrand and Schumer in the 2022 Omnibus. The Senators were then joined by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) to get Congress to authorize enrolling Pentagon and Shanksville responders who were not able to join the program. There was also additional funding in the 2023 National Defense Authorization.
But even with these efforts, the World Trade Center Health Program is still facing an impending deficit in the coming years.
The bipartisan “9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding and Correction Act of 2024” (H.R. 9101/ S.4724) by Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) will ensure that the health program gets the full funding it needs.
I am asking you to please contact your Representatives in Congress and urge them to join in co-sponsoring the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding and Correction Act. If they have already signed on to the bill, then thank them for joining in this effort.
Our Friends at Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act have created a tool that will make it easy for you to contact them.
- All you need to do is go to their website here.
- Type in your address. It will tell you who your Members of Congress are, and whether they have already agreed to co-sponsor the bill.
- From there, you can type in your phone number, and they will call you and connect you to your Representative, free of charge, so you can talk to their staff and tell them you want their boss to co-sponsor this important legislation.
You can also find out more on this issue at by visiting the Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act Inc. website and sign up for updates on this issue and the progress of the legislation here.
Thank you for joining in this effort and calling your Member of Congress today. With deep respect,
Mike Barasch
P. S. Congress promised us that they would “never forget 9/11.” We need more than their words. We need them to act! This legislation will ensure funding for medical care now through 2090. It will provide funding both for those who are in the program now, and for those who will regrettably need to join the program in the future.
Again, I ask you to please contact your Representatives in Congress and urge them to join in co-sponsoring the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding and Correction Act.