The New York Daily News releases a report in which Dr. David Prezant reveals that the Treasury Department has withheld around $3.2 million from 9/11 victims. Prezant is the director of the Fire Department of New York’s World Trade Center Health Program.
The FDNY WTC Health Program is a federal program intended to cover the medical bills for emergency responders suffering from ailments caused by working on Ground Zero.
“This was just disappearing,” Prezant said. “This is the most amazing thing. This was disappearing — without any notification.”
“Here we have sick World Trade Center-exposed firefighters and EMS workers, at a time when the city is having difficult financial circumstances due to covid-19, and we’re not getting the money we need to be able to treat these heroes.”
“And for years, they wouldn’t even tell us — we never ever received a letter telling us this.”
International Business Times
In 2016, before Trump took office, the Treasury withheld $500,000 from the program. The $3.2 million is the sum of withheld funds from 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
In 2020 alone, the Treasury held back $1,447,000 from the program.
Steven Mnuchin has served as Treasury Secretary since February 13, 2017.
Sources
https://www.ibtimes.com/911-anniversary-report-accuses-treasury-withholding-millions-first-responders-fund-3044315
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-administration-siphoned-almost-244-million-from-911-first-responders-fund-report/ar-BB18WjY5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the_Treasury
Photo: Public Domain
