House Passes 9/11 First Responders Bill Passionately Supported By Jon Stewart

The comedian spoke to Congress in February  and again in June  about the VCF after the Justice Department announced that a lack of funding could lead to a 50% to 70% reduction in compensation for first responders who were exposed to toxins during 9/11 rescue and recovery efforts.

In an op-ed for the New York Daily News earlier this year, Stewart said roughly 45,000 people are suffering from at least one 9/11-related chronic health condition and more than 10,000 have been diagnosed with a 9/11-related cancer. 

Luis Alvarez, a former New York City police detective who joined Stewart during the June hearing, died from cancer later that month. He traced his 2016 diagnosis of colorectal cancer to the three months he spent searching through ground zero after 9/11.

“This fund isn’t a ticket to paradise, it’s to provide our families with care,” Alvarez told House Judiciary subcommittee members during the hearing. “You all said you would never forget. Well, I’m here to make sure that you don’t.”

Speaking at a press event on Capitol Hill ahead of Friday’s House vote, Stewart again criticized lawmakers who have raised concerns about the cost of the program.

“It’s like watching Joey Chestnut throw down 70 hot dogs on Coney Island and then at the end of it, not have a Coke because he’s, you know, watching the calories,” Stewart said , referencing the competitive hot dog eater . “Don’t be nuts here. This is necessary. It is urgent and it is morally right.”