The letter states the town was supplied with an in depth accounting of all money owed since 2004, however the letter doesn’t element them.
“New York Metropolis firefighters are ready on Secretary Mnuchin to behave,” a spokesperson for the mayor instructed CNN. “If the Trump administration helps first responders and the fearless women and men who maintain People secure, then it is time for them to show it.”
The FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Affiliation and a number of other native and state officers have referred to as on the Treasury to rectify the state of affairs with out costing the 9/11 first responders their well being care funding.
“Can I blame Secretary Mnuchin? I assume I am unable to as a result of this has been occurring for 17 years, however I’d admire him fixing it, and fixing it to our satisfaction the place the cash is returned,” FDNY-Uniformed Firefighters Affiliation President Andrew Ansbro mentioned in a information convention Wednesday. “They’ll chase down New York Metropolis’s debt someplace else, however on the backs of New York Metropolis firefighters who’re affected by 9/11-related sicknesses, that is not acceptable.”
The letter, despatched final Thursday, was additionally despatched to 30 New York state officers together with Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and US Sen. Chuck Schumer, one other Democrat who has been in correspondence with the Treasury preventing over the difficulty, in accordance with his workplace.
The FDNY World Commerce Heart Well being Program helps present complete bodily and psychological well being companies to all energetic and retired FDNY members who responded to the 9/11 assaults for gratis to this system members. The Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers, a federal company inside the Division of Well being and Human Providers, is liable for disbursing funding to this system.
Ansbro mentioned that 9/11 first responders have continued to really feel the funding shortages particularly in the course of the pandemic.
“The lacking funding is straight hindering this system’s capability to rent docs, the variety of fireplace division members who’re been handled by this system continues to develop each day, and the members of this system which were unable to go to appointments on account of Covid pandemic at the moment are searching for therapy, and extra staffing is required now,” Ansbro mentioned on the press convention.
Within the letter, Mnuchin agreed that the town’s firefighters should not endure the results of federal debt squabbles, however nonetheless mentioned it is on the town to rectify the funding hole.
“HHS has concluded that it has no authority to refund offsets to previous funds to FDNY to fulfill legitimate NYC money owed,” Mnuchin wrote. “We agree that it’s unfair to burden FDNY with the delinquent money owed of different NYC authorities entities. The Metropolis authorities ought to straight reimburse FDNY.”
Mnuchin says that ought to the New York Metropolis authorities decide to not reimburse the practically $4 million shortfall, his division may launch funds to the FDNY program by offsetting the quantity in opposition to future federal funds owed to the town.
Home Democrats Methods and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal and Power and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone wrote Mnuchin a letter Tuesday demanding the funding be returned to this system.
“In the case of guaranteeing 9/11 frontline responders can get the medical therapy and monitoring they want, any delay that impacts such care is solely insupportable,” Neal, of Massachusetts and Pallone, of New Jersey, wrote.
The pair requested Mnuchin of their letter for clarification as to why the Treasury believes it lacks the authority to launch the tens of millions of {dollars} in reimbursements owed to the FDNY World Commerce Heart Well being Program, and whether or not the Treasury particularly requested the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers to submit a request to exempt the cash at the moment being offset from FDNY.
Neal and Pallone requested that the division reply accordingly by Tuesday of subsequent week.
CNN’s Caroline Kelly contributed to this report.
