9/11 first responders from Long Island going to DC for funding fight
9/11 first responders from Long Island are leading the charge to secure permanent healthcare funding for those who got sick after being at Ground Zero.
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Thomas Wilson, of Bellport, and Glenn Tarquinio, of Holtsville, former members of the NYPD and 9/11 first responders, are going to Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning to urge lawmakers to support a bill to address the funding shortfall in the World Trade Center Health Program.
"Out of 435 congressional districts, 434 of those congressional districts...have a 9/11 responder who is in the World Trade Center Health Program living in their districts, so we have to educate them...and you know sometimes we have to call them out on their hypocrisy also," said Wilson.
The program, which pays for medical treatment for more than 137,000 people with 9/11-related illnesses, is in danger of running out of money.
"That shortfall's primarily due to the exploding number of certified cancers," said Wilson.
He's going to Washington, D.C. for the 55th time to advocate for funding.
"I deal with the long-term effects of head and neck cancer radiation," says Wilson.
Tarquinio was diagnosed with a 9/11-related cancer 19 years later and is finally healthy enough to make his first trip to advocate for funding for the program.
"There are plenty of people who need what we're fighting for," said Tarquinio.
The two men say they will keep pushing for funding, no matter how long it takes.
With his voice breaking and tears streaming down his face, Tarquinio said, "I always thought it would be easier, as you get further away from it, (9/11) but I don't know why, it just never did."
If the new bill passes, it would fund the World Trade Center Health Program through 2090.
