BS BULLETIN:

• New York Democrats Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen are taking Republican fire after voting against the massive spending package that secured long-term funding for the World Trade Center Health Program.
• Both lawmakers had publicly championed protecting health care for 9/11 responders and survivors and helped push for the funding.
• The fight resurfaces as America marks 25 years since the attacks — while illnesses linked to Ground Zero continue taking an extraordinary toll.

Republicans are accusing two New York Democrats of having some explaining to do as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen have both been outspoken advocates for the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides medical monitoring and treatment for responders and survivors suffering from illnesses associated with exposure to the attacks and their aftermath.

But when Congress voted earlier this year on H.R. 7148 — the enormous appropriations package containing the long-term funding fix for the program — both Democrats voted no.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is now highlighting those votes, accusing the vulnerable Long Island Democrats of touting their support for 9/11 victims while opposing the legislation that ultimately delivered the money.

Neither lawmaker simply voted against 9/11 health care. The World Trade Center provisions were part of a sprawling federal spending package covering numerous programs and contentious issues. Suozzi and Gillen opposed the overall bill while maintaining their support for the 9/11 program itself.

In fact, both had worked publicly with members of both parties to secure its long-term funding.

“Many continue to suffer lasting health consequences, and Congress has a responsibility to deliver the care these heroes were promised,” Suozzi said during the bipartisan funding push.

Gillen similarly noted that thousands of her constituents depend on the program.

But Republicans aren’t letting them separate their advocacy from their final votes. The appropriations legislation eventually became law and corrected the World Trade Center Health Program’s looming funding shortfall, establishing a funding formula extending through fiscal year 2040.

And 25 years after the towers fell, the need isn’t disappearing.

The federal WTC Health Program now has more than 143,000 enrolled members, including more than 88,000 responders and 55,000 survivors.

New York City’s newly released 25-year health report found that more than 10,000 FDNY members alone have at least one certified 9/11-related physical condition, while more than 4,200 currently have cancer certifications.

Other recent data paint an even darker picture. Cancer diagnoses among people exposed to the World Trade Center disaster continue climbing decades after the attacks, with researchers warning that some diseases can take years to emerge.

That makes a congressional vote involving their medical care unusually potent political ammunition — particularly on Long Island, where thousands of responders, survivors and their families live.

And particularly on September 11.

MY QUICK TAKE

Twenty-five years later, this really shouldn’t be complicated.

If Washington can find billions for practically everything under the sun, the men and women still getting sick because they ran toward Ground Zero shouldn’t have to wonder whether their medical care survives the next congressional food fight.

Suozzi and Gillen have a legitimate defense: they supported the 9/11 program and opposed a giant spending bill containing a lot more than 9/11 funding.

Republicans have an equally simple rejoinder: When the button actually had to be pushed, you voted no.

On most days, Washington can spend six hours explaining the difference. On September 11, that explanation gets considerably harder to sell.

DBS WIRE SOURCES

• New York Post — Dem Long Island House members bragged about 9/11 health program, then voted against bill: GOP
• Congressional legislation — H.R. 7148 World Trade Center Health Program funding provisions
• GovInfo — World Trade Center Health Program law, amended through Public Law 119-75
• NYC Mayor’s Office — FDNY 25-year World Trade Center health impact report
• CDC — World Trade Center Health Program