During a hearing on reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart was not joking around in the slightest.
The compensation fund, which provides financial assistance to responders and victims who require medical care related to health issues they suffered in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is running low on funding, hence the hearing.
Testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, an emotional Stewart called the lawmakers who were not in attendance for the hearing “shameful.”
“As I sit here today, I can’t help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to,” Stewart said. “Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders; and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one … shameful.”
He later continued: “You should be ashamed of yourselves for not being here. Accountability appears to not be something that occurs in this chamber.”
The longtime comedian has been an outspoken advocate for the fund, which is set to expire in December 2020, since his days on Comedy Central.
Along with Stewart, a retired detective and responder from the NYPD who has cancer linked to the 9/11 attacks, Luis Alvarez, also testified in front of the subcommittee.
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