‘It’s going to get even worse’

Survivors of the Sept. 11 attacks and city councilmembers are urging Congress to approve more funding for a 9/11-related illness health program slated to run out of cash this decade.

The World Trade Center Health Program has provided more than 140,000 survivors with cancer treatment, respiratory care and mental health support since 2011, officials said — but given “insufficient” funding, the initiative will begin turning away new applicants in 2027.

“This program saves lives,” 9/11 survivor John Feal said outside the steps of City Hall Wednesday morning, touting the program’s early cancer detection and treatment for 9/11-related health conditions without out-of-pocket costs as a “lifeline.”

The federal 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025 would modify the funding formula for the CDC-run program based on the number of annual enrollees through 2090.

A New York City Council resolution, set to be introduced Wednesday, calls on Congress to pass the measure at once.

“It is totally outrageous that we have to be out here asking for funding,” councilwoman Julie Menin said, moments before blasting U.S. Department of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for gutting the agency overseeing the program and playing “Russian roulette with people’s lives.”

Attorney Michael Barasch, who represents over 40,000 clients, says he loses an average of two a day “and at least a dozen new people call us every week.

“It’s going to get even worse” with time, he added, as more people get sick from cancers with longer latency periods.

“They should agree that they made a promise to never forget,” Barasch said.

“Well, they’re forgetting.”

Jason Cousin is one of many first responders who are “highly concerned” that the money will run out before his turn.

Cousin, 49, suffers from sinus deterioration and severe emphysema that has turned his lungs into “Swiss cheese,” as well as PTSD and panic attacks.

His chronic lung disease is the only illness that could be covered by the program, Cousin said, lamenting he feels “lost in the dark” by the group that had promised to be there for 9/11 heroes.

Cousin and his fellow volunteer Brookhaven, Long Island firefighters were bravely pulling victims from the rubble within hours of the attacks. The responders stayed for more than a week — breathing in a constant stream of cement, asbestos, silica and glass particles in the process.

“They told us that there was no toxins in the air or anything like that,” Cousin recalled. “They gave us two N95 masks and within about a minute, it was so obstructed with dust that you couldn’t even wear it.”

Since 2023, Cousin has been relying on expensive medicine to help with his breathing and underwent an intensive 10-hour surgery to reconstruct his sinuses.

He filed a claim with the program in March and is still waiting to attend the first appointment slot he was offered, set for later this month.

But Cousin is worried that he’s “not sick enough” to get the coverage — his lung capacity needs to be below 70% at the time of his appointment, an arbitrary number he hovers around day-to-day.

Cousin’s lawyers warn that, even if approved, it could be another two years before he sees any money.

“Two years? That’s not good enough; my husband is going to be an emotional wreck by then,” said Cousin’s wife Shannon.

Meanwhile, the couple has blown through more than $100,000 in savings, has gone into personal loan debt and moved into a cheaper town upstate to cover the debilitating costs.

This month, they even launched a GoFundMe in a desperate bid to stay afloat amid piling medical bills.

Even with the hardships, Cousin said he has “no regrets” about responding to 9/11.

“I’d do it again tomorrow.”