Attorney General Jackson Stands Up for 9/11 Responders and Survivors

For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Contact: Ben Conroy

(984) 383-9038

RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 38 Democrat and Republican attorneys general urged Congress to protect health care for more than 135,000 first responders, survivors, and families of the 9/11 attacks. Attorney General Jackson is asking Congress to fully fund the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), which is facing a devastating funding shortfall that could result in thousands of people losing access to critical health care and treatment services.

“The survivors and first responders of 9/11 have given enough, and we need to step up for them,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “This is about doing the right thing and having the backs of the people who had our backs. I voted to get more health care resources to 9/11 survivors when I was in Congress, and I’m asking Congress to protect health care for this community.”

The WTCHP provides free medical care, monitoring, and treatment to more than 132,000 Americans living with 9/11-related health conditions, including firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs, construction workers, volunteers, and community members who were present in the aftermath of the attacks. Many of these patients now suffer from chronic respiratory illnesses, cancers, mental health conditions, and other serious illnesses directly linked to their exposure to toxic dust after the attacks.

With more survivors being diagnosed with 9/11-related illnesses every year, the program will soon face a severe funding shortfall. This could cause cutbacks on services and prevent the WTCHP from accepting new patients, potentially leaving thousands of responders and their families without access to critical health care and treatment.

The attorneys general are asking Congress to fully fund the World Trade Center Health Care program and honor our nation’s commitment to those who risked or lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Attorney General Jackson is joined in sending this bipartisan letter by the attorneys general of American Samoa, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

You can read the bipartisan letter to Congress here.

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