Urge President to Rehire Former 9/11 Health Czar

JOHN HOWARD: 'Must coordinate across institutions.'

City Members of Congress, labor leaders and community groups Feb. 23 called on President Obama to reinstate Dr. John Howard as the 9/11 health czar, a job he was removed from by the Bush Administration last summer.

Speaking to reporters gathered outside 7 World Trade Center, elected officials praised Dr. Howard's work and said he stood out as someone whom rescue and response workers had trusted to build a long-term national treatment and monitoring program.

'Firing An Act of Sabotage'

"We can only assume that he was fired because he was one of the few officials in the Bush Administration— arguably the only one—who showed concern for the victims of 9/11, and who actually tried to do things and actually tried to get the money appropriated by Congress spent in an effective manner," U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler said. "The fact that when he was fired no one replaced him—it wasn't a standard placement: A goes out and B comes in—shows that this was an act of sabotage by the Bush Administration, because they didn't want a voice pushing them. They didn't want an internal voice or a public voice for the victims and for doing anything about this problem."

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James REVERSIBLE ERROR: New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes joined U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (right) and Carolyn Maloney in calling on Dr. John Howard's reinstatement as 9/11 health czar. Mr. Hughes has also said that securing permanent Federal funding for 9/11 treatment and monitoring is the labor group's top priority.

Congressman Nadler went on to say that without a White House-appointed 9/11 health czar, it has been up to the private sector, unions and Congress to manage funds for 9/11 health programs in recent months.

"Nothing from the executive branch, and Congress is not equipped to do an executive function," he said.

Dr. Howard, who had served for two years as the 9/11 health czar, was also removed from the top job at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, but continues to do research at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

'Lacked Comprehensive Vision'

In a phone interview, Dr. Howard said a top administrator was necessary to coordinate grants given to private hospitals and government agencies. Without stable funding or a top administrator, he said, 9/11 health care and monitoring remained some- what of an ad hoc operation.

"From my point of view, the big area that I think that I served well that no one else really did was coordinating across institutions," he said. "We've been making up this program as we go. We've never had a cohesive, comprehensive vision and I think that's the role a coordinator serves."

The call for Dr. Howard's reinstatement, which also came in the form of a letter to the President, came after New York Members of Congress reintroduced legislation that would secure permanent Federal funding for health care for 9/11 rescue and response workers as well as for residents. Currently, programs serving people with 9/11 illnesses and injuries are funded by annual appropriations.

'Shouldn't Have to Beg'

The City Council passed a resolution last year calling on Congress to pass the bill, and lower Manhattan Councilman Alan Gerson has vowed to pass another one this year.

Uniformed Fire Officers Association Treasurer Eddie Boles praised the delegation's push for the 9/11 health bill, but lamented that first-responder unions still had to struggle for permanent Federal health-care funding and an executive branch director to administer medical monitoring and treatment programs.

"We shouldn't have to beg," he said.