Add Your HeadSenator Kim Calls Out Secretary Kennedy for Gutting Ground Zero Firefighters and 9/11 Survivors’ Healthcareing Text Here
May 14, 2025
WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) confronted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for gutting the World Trade Center Health Program which provides medical monitoring and treatment for 9/11 first responders and survivors of the deadly terrorist attacks. During his question line, Senator Kim upheld his promise to voice the anger of a fire captain in New Jersey who was diagnosed with cancer and spoke out at a recent town hall in Chatham against cuts to the program.
When Senator Kim pressed on why the cuts were made, Secretary Kennedy said, “We try to be as careful as we can about what we cut and what we didn’t. We made a couple of mistakes.”
Senator Kim responded, “I don’t think you were trying to be as careful as you can. That’s the problem that we’ve seen by rushing these decisions.”
He went on to demand that Secretary Kennedy promise that the program’s staffing would be returned to what it was before he became Secretary, but Secretary Kennedy refused to confirm it would be continued at full strength.
Senator Kim continued to amplify the fire captain’s concerns, including by asking why the National Firefighter Cancer Registry was shut down and no longer allows firefighters to enroll. The registry was a federal initiative to study and reduce cancer among firefighters before being shut down when the Trump administration gutted the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Secretary Kennedy responded, “I don’t know about that.”
Secretary Kennedy agreed to work with the Senator to try and get the registry back up and running as soon as possible.
Senator Kim concluded his question line by calling for bipartisan agreement to support heroes at the World Trade Center, stating, “If we can’t even agree on that, if that is not seen as a high enough priority then I am worried about everything else.”
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