NEW YORK (AP) – Some of the city’s top CEOs and business leaders have written a letter asking Congress to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to treat people sickened by World Trade Center dust.

The executives, members of the Partnership for New York City business group, signed the letter after Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office met with business leaders and asked for help securing federal aid, said Kathryn Wylde, the partnership’s president.

“We’re hoping that it will catch the attention of Congress,” Ms. Wylde said Tuesday. “The further away we get from 9/11, the more the Congress in particular is on to other issues and other problems.”

The letter, dated June 21, was sent to congressional leaders including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It is signed by the CEOs of financial giants American Express Co., JP Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs & Co., as well as McGraw-Hill Cos., Loews Corp. and the Consolidated Edison Inc. utility.

“We believe that the federal government has the responsibility to help those who were injured as a result of the Sept. 11 attack on this country,” the letter said.

Spokespeople for Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment on Wednesday.

The letter asks Congress to appropriate $283 million for the 2008 fiscal year to treat thousands of people suffering from respiratory and psychological ailments. It cited the mayor’s recommendations earlier this year to create a federal fund to compensate sick workers. Thousands of the workers are currently suing the city, alleging that their failure to protect them while working at the site caused or exacerbated their illnesses.

Bloomberg has estimated the cost of treating the sick or those who could become sick from exposure to trade center dust at $393 million a year. U.S. SenatorClinton has offered legislation that would spend $1.9 billion for five years of treatment.