9/11 first responders may be left if health care limbo if there’s a government shut down
First responders who helped rescue people from the carnage of 9/11 and are currently suffering with an illness related to that tragic day may be left in a health care limbo if the government shuts down, experts told Fox News Digital.
First responders suffering from illnesses years after rescuing people from the carnage of 9/11 are worried they could be left in health care limbo if the government shuts down advocates told Fox News Digital -- though officials insist services won't be interrupted even if no spending deal is struck.
"It’s amazing how [the U.S. government has] billions of dollars to fund other nations’ issues. And it’s amazing how we’re funding all the illegal immigrants, which are costing New York City billions of dollars, yet we can’t find funds to help those who keep the city moving," Oren Barzilay, president of FDNY EMS Local 2507, told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.
"It’s disturbing, and it’s frustrating to know that we’re taking care of everybody else around the corner of the world, and we can take care of our own," he added.
Washington, D.C., is ablaze with talks that the government may shut down as lawmakers have until 11:59 p.m. Saturday to reach a deal on a spending plan to continue funding the government.
A spokesperson with the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health told Fox News Digital on Friday that the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program will remain operational during a potential shutdown.
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Smoke pours from the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City after they were hit by two hijacked airliners on Sept. 11, 2001. (Robert Giroux / Getty Images)
"I can confirm that the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program will remain operational and fully staffed in the event of a government shutdown. WTC Health Program members will have uninterrupted access to all Program and healthcare services," the spokesperson said.
Attorney Michael Barasch, managing partner at Barasch & McGarry, however, said guidance on the 9/11-related health programs during a potential shutdown has been confusing and unsatisfying.
"Everybody in the 9/11 community is literally scared to death that they may lose their chemotherapy appointments, their bone marrow transplant appointments," Barasch told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview Thursday.
Washington, D.C., is ablaze with talks that the government may shut down as lawmakers have until 11:59 p.m. Saturday to reach a deal on a spending plan to continue funding the government. (Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg via Getty Images / File)
For the 9/11 community, which includes those such as first responders, residents of New York City and tourists who were in the city 22 years ago this month, they may have the "rug pulled out from underneath" them if they are in the middle of receiving treatment, according to attorney Michael Barasch, managing partner at Barasch & McGarry.
Attorney Michael Barasch, managing partner at Barasch & McGarry, is shown at the 9/11 memorial in New York City. (Michael Barasch)
Barasch and his law firm represented NYPD Detective James Zadroga, who developed pulmonary fibrosis due to his exposure at Ground Zero. Zadroga died in 2006, and his death helped pave the way for Congress to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which was signed into law in 2011.
First responders who helped rescue people from the carnage of 9/11 and are currently suffering with an illness related to that tragic day may be left in a health care limbo if the government shuts down, experts told Fox News Digital. (AP Photo / Mark Lennihan / File)
The law reopened the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which provides benefits to victims who suffer with illnesses that stem from exposure to toxins, and started the World Trade Center Health Program, which is overseen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and offers medical services to survivors.
For now, the 9/11 community is in limbo over whether their health care will be deemed "essential" under a government shutdown and remain operating, according to Barasch.
"Every one of us, myself included, consider ourselves ticking time bombs."
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"Nobody knows, that's the problem. At least tell us, ‘Go find a private doctor. You're going to be out for as long as the government is shut down.’ We hope that these health programs will stay open. But the fact is, they're all government employees. So, they may be out of work and, therefore, the clinics may close," Barasch said of the World Trade Center Health Program.
Michael Barasch is a 9/11 legal advocate who represents FDNY members who are suffering with, or died from, illnesses related to the terrorist attack in 2001. (Michael Barasch)
"Same thing about the Victim Compensation Fund; these people, these families, have been waiting years to get compensation, but you can't get compensation until you're first found certified by the health program," he continued.
Retired FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles, who responded to Ground Zero on 9/11, told Fox News Digital that he has a "special message" to the politicians on Capitol Hill.
"They wrap themselves in the flag every Sept. 11. Well, wrap yourself around that flag right now and remember your first responders and your citizen community that is suffering the effects of 9/11," Alles said.
Now-retired FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles, left. (Richard Alles)
Hundreds of FDNY first responders have died from 9/11-related illnesses in the years after the devastating attack, with many suffering from cancers and illnesses that did not manifest until after years of incubation. Skin cancers, like basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, as well as liver, brain and kidney cancers, are some of the top diseases that affect first responders and those who were in New York during the attack and in the days and weeks that followed.
"Every one of us, myself included, consider ourselves ticking time bombs," Alles said.
Barzilay, who also responded on the day of the attacks, said if the government is shut down and the 9/11 health and compensation programs are stalled, it could lead to more people dying or dying sooner than expected.
Former Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., left, comedian Jon Stewart, center, and retired FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles. (Richard Alles)
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"It's going to hurt a lot of people if there's no funding fo the medical needs of the World Trade Center community. It may even shorten people's lives sooner than expected. These benefits, maintaining people [to] continue to live. And if there's a shutdown and there's no funding, you may see this number increase rapidly," he said.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy signaled Thursday that he is willing to work with the Democrat-controlled Senate to agree to a stopgap funding compromise, known as a continuing resolution, according to sources who previously spoke to Fox News Digital. The compromise would reportedly need to include strengthened border security.
"Can't we agree that the 9/11 community shouldn't be pawns in this game between the Republicans and the Democrats? This is essential services. And I hope that they view the health program as essential and won't close it down," Barasch said.
Responding to concerns raised by 9/11 victims advocates interviewed in this story, the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch reached out Friday to Fox News Digital with a statement saying that no health services for 9/11 victims under federal legislation should be curtailed in a potential shutdown.
"With the Federal Governments impending shut down wanted to make sure the 911 community of injured and ill 9/11 responders and survivors knew that both programs created by the James Zadroga Act the World Trade Center Health Program and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund will remain open and operational during any government shut down and that services are NOT impacted by it," the statement reads.
"There will be more information on both program websites if and when there is a shut down. Please share this with other 9/11 responders and survivors."
Editor’s note: This story has been changed to reflect that although there are concerns from advocates, government officials say health services will be uninterrupted in the event of a shutdown. Statements have been added from the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health and 911 Health Watch.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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