Schumer, Gillibrand push for bill to help 9/11 survivors with healthcare funding

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC)— More firefighters and police officers in New York City who responded to Ground Zero have died since 9/11 than on 9/11, and now there’s a bill in Congress to guarantee those responders have the money and health care to deal with their illness.

NY Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand were in NYC on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the attacks to push for the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Funding Correction Act.

The bill. introduced in August, would allow flexibility and funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, a no-cost medical monitoring, and treatment program for certified WTC-related health conditions.

"In fact, I’ve seen a statistic that said I think three-quarters of the firefighters who served on 9/11 are now ill," Gillibrand said. "Three-quarters of the fire fighters."

A study two years ago found responders to Ground Zero are 25 percent more likely to get prostate cancer and twice as likely to get thyroid cancer or leukemia than the average person.

"We’ve made it a passion to see that this third group of heroes at least gets both the compensation and health care they need," Schumer said.