Federal cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program have resulted in a 23% reduction in the agency’s staffing and could put 9/11 survivors at risk, critics said Tuesday.

New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have already reached out to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., demanding the “insulting” and “un-American” cuts to the program be rescinded.

The World Trade Center Health Program approves and covers medical expenses for those suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.

“‘Never forget’ is not just a slogan. It is a sacred promise to always stand by 9/11 heroes, a promise being broken by slashing funding and vital staffing for their health care in the World Trade Center Health Program,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. “It’s unacceptable and un-American. To say funding for 9/11 first responders is government waste is outrageous and insulting.”

Last week, the Trump administration announced layoffs across the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a cost-cutting measure. As a result, 16 probationary staffers at the World Trade Center Health Program, which is administered by CDC, have been fired. Up to five other full-time staffers have agreed to take a “buyout.”

The World Trade Center Health Program only has 90 employees, critics pointed out.

The steep staffing reduction will slow down both enrollments into the program and medical care approvals for survivors suffering from 9/11 illnesses, advocates warn.

“We cannot believe that the Trump administration or the new HHS secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr., intends to harm 9/11 responders and survivors in the World Trade Center Health Program, but that will be the outcome of these cuts,” said Benjamin Chevat, of the Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act.

The staffing cuts come on top of additional CDC cuts to research grants that reportedly will prevent the FDNY from providing members with treatment coverage for new, 9/11-related health conditions, plus other research cuts set to negatively impact lifesaving research on 9/11 conditions and treatments, 9/11 advocates say.

This is the second time the World Trade Center Health Program has found itself under attack by the Trump administration. In December, before Trump was sworn into office, his incoming administration forced the killing of a bill that would have fully funded the program through 2040.

The World Trade Center Health Program was created in 2011 as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. It initially was supposed to run for five years but was extended until 2090 as more people came down with 9/11 illnesses.

About 140,000 survivors have been enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program. More than 12,000 enrolled in the program last year alone.

“Slashing funding and laying off workers who run this vital program will have a devastating impact on its ability to provide sick responders and survivors with the care they need,” Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said. “This is a betrayal of our heroes who stepped up and risked their lives to put our community back together in one of our nation’s darkest hours, and we will not let it stand.”

During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy “committed to working with Congress to ensure that 9/11 first responders and survivors continue to get the care they need,” Schumer and Gillibrand reminded the Health secretary in their letter.

“We ask that you uphold your commitment by reversing the rash and counterproductive termination of World Trade Center Health Program staff and provide answers to how you will ensure continuity of quality care for enrollees,” they wrote.

An email to the CDC about the cuts was not immediately returned.

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