Blumenthal Says Trump Proposal Could Hurt 9/11 First Responder Health Program

Senator Richard Blumenthal is sounding the alarm on a federal budget proposal that would affect 500 Connecticut first responders who went to Ground Zero on 9/11.

"Over 20 men in the West Haven Fire Department made the trip down to ground zero after the towers fell," West Haven Fire Lt. William Heffernan said. "I saw firsthand the destruction and the carnage that was there."

In the rubble of the World Trade Center, Heffernan and thousands of first responders were exposed to chemical toxins that can cause cancer and respiratory illnesses.

"Every day we read about another soul who has passed away," Heffernan said. "Another member who is sick and dying from the effects of all the toxins."

Heffernan joined Blumenthal in speaking out against President Donald Trump's budget proposal that reorganizes the program that monitors the health and oversees benefits for thousands of 9/11 first responders and survivors.

"If it aint broke, don’t fix it," Heffernan said.

Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, has proposed separating the World Trade Center Health program from the direction of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

"That’s bureaucratic nonsense to save a relatively small number of dollars," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal and a group of bi-partisan tristate lawmakers said the change would deprive 9/11 first responders and survivors of the occupational health experts who are familiar with their medical conditions.

"The federal government should not be disrupting and dismantling the World Trade Center Health Program," Blumenthal said.

Most of West Haven’s 9/11 firefighters go for annual check-ups at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

"They go down and monitor us and they keep track of all the documentation and they track different diseases, who has cancer, who has lung disease and things of that nature so every time I go down and get checked I feel better as long as nothing is wrong," Heffernan said.

New York Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Peter King, who were original sponsors of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2015, issued this statement.

"This proposal from OMB is downright irresponsible. These heroes deserve the best care, and this proposal from Director Mulvaney means that will not happen. It needs to be withdrawn immediately. We know Director Mulvaney did not support the reauthorization when he was here in congress, we just hope he is not purposefully trying to sabotage it because this suggestion is either incompetence or is being done on purpose. We fought for years to pass the Zadroga Act and you can count on that same passion and energy to make sure this proposal is never enacted."

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