9/11 Health Funding and Border Security

0:00 Speaker 1 9-11 weekend, Sunday morning. With us today is Congresswoman Nicole Mayotakis, who is the only Republican congresswoman in the five boroughs of New York City. Well, Nicole Mayotakis, 9-11 weekend, where were you on 9-11? Were you born yet?

0:20 Speaker 2 Well, I was actually 20 years old. I just graduated from college. I was going to my first job working in Manhattan. I was on the express bus coming from Staten Island and I was actually passing the towers when the first plane had struck and I felt the ground shaking and we thought we were having an earthquake. At

0:37 least that’s what I thought. And then when people started pointing up, we saw the hole in the tower and and the fire coming out. And the bus was smart enough to keep on moving and just kept driving and driving and driving uptown to get everyone out of harm’s way.

0:51 And that’s where I was. And it feels like yesterday, John. I think a lot of people are saying that, even though it’s 25 years, It feels like yesterday, and I think now as a member of Congress, my goal is to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure we never have another terrorist attack. And that means

1:10 we need to keep having a secure border. We need to fully support our law enforcement. We need to make sure the Department of Homeland Security is funded and the law enforcement entities associated with it, whether it’s ICE or Customs and Border Protection, they can do their jobs to protect Make sure we know who is coming in and

1:28 out of this country and deport those who should not be here. That is, I think, really what we, when we say never forget, it means that and also means what we did this year, which was to fully fund the Victims’ Compensation Fund as well as the health care program, because we still have people dying on a regular basis

1:50 to 9-11-related illnesses, particularly in my community that is made up of so many firefighters, police officers, first responders, and people who work in and around the World Trade Center.

2:02 Speaker 1 Understood. And how many people do you think are still sick over what happened at the World Trade Center? And I also want your opinion on all these new reports that... supposedly were hidden from the American people about the World Trade Center collapse.

2:22 Speaker 2 Well, there’s thousands and thousands of people that are suffering from these 9-11-related illnesses, particularly cancers. In fact, when we were at the FDNY ceremony earlier this week, they pointed out there were 343 firefighters killed on 9-11, but there are 452 that have died since due to these illnesses.

2:45 And overall, there’s about three times as many people that have died since 9-11 compared to that day. And so this is an ongoing issue, which is why Congress, with President Trump, making sure that the health care program is fully funded for the people who deserve it and need it. Now, I always support transparency, but I think that, you know,

3:09 I don’t know at the end of the day, when people sign up for the health care program, it’s my understanding that they also waive any ability to sue. So I’m not sure what will come out of these records being released. But look, it’s a tragedy. We’re paying the price still to this day. And I think it’s We

3:35 just need to make sure that we take care of those people. And I think that, you know, for years we had sick members of the fire department, people dying with cancer, coming to Washington just to lobby for what they needed, what they deserved, which was health care, to care for the illness that they contracted, serving our city

3:54 and our country. They don’t have to do that because we took care of this critical person. funding that was necessary. And I think that that, you know, in itself was one of the most important things that Congress could do.

4:08 We in my office, and if there’s constituents out there that live in Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, who are dealing with the appeals process or the application process for these 9-11 programs, They should reach out to us, and we can be of assistance. We’ve helped so many people get the benefits that they’re entitled to and that they

4:29 so rightfully deserve.

4:32 Speaker 1 Understood. Well, Nicole Mayotakis, let’s pray for New York. Let’s pray that 9-11 is in our past, but we should never forget what happened. And God bless America, and thank you for coming on this, I guess, 9-11 weekend.

4:51 Speaker 2 Thank you, John. And thank you. And thanks to our first responders who do an amazing job and put their life on the line each and every day for our city.