Trump administration admits defunding FDNY's 9/11 health care program
NEW YORK — The Trump administration acknowledged Friday that it stripped millions of dollars from the city’s fire department fund that pays health care bills for 9/11 survivors and promised to try to put an end to the practice.
The administration’s about-face came after the Daily News reported Thursday that the Treasury Department has over the past four years siphoned nearly $4 million from the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program, which helps cover medical services for firefighters, EMTs and paramedics still suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.
The Treasury Department explained that it conducts offsets through the Treasury Offset Program, which matches the name and taxpayer identification number, or “TIN,” for outgoing payments against its debt records. If there is a match, an offset is applied as require by law.
Some payees — such as New York City — use a single TIN for many or their subdivisions, which can result in the payment for one subdivision being subject to offset for a debt owned by another.
