Jon Stewart and 9/11 first responders' fight for more government aid

Recently, on 11 June 2019, the former host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, went in front of a House Judiciary Committee to present his testimony on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a fund that is supposed to aid 9/11 first responders who have developed health issues related to their involvement in the rescue work during the disaster with health coverage and compensation. Yet, he, accompanied by many of the first responders and lobbyists, was met with an almost empty House.

“Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders, and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress.” - Jon Stewart

A long-time advocate

This was not Stewart’s first appearance as a advocate for the first responders of the 9/11 attacks. Back in 2010, when Congress was still split over passing the Zadroga Act (to provide health monitoring and financial aid to these first responders), Stewart dedicated an entire episode of The Daily Show to talk about this exact issue. He featured 4 responders on that episode and interviewed them on their conditions following their work at or near the site of the attack. As a result of breathing in toxic gas emitted as the buildings fell apart during the attack, many of these first responders have developed severe diseases such as cancer. Others suffered different forms of injuries, varying in severity as a result of their work as well. Stewart also lamented Congress’ attitude towards this issue, arguing that it should not be a partisan issue and the lack of media coverage on the proceedings. Following that episode, Congress eventually managed to pass the bill and then-President Barack Obama signed it to law in January 2011 which reactivated the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

However, the Act had an expiry date (shockingly).

The Act expired on 1 October 2015 and hence later that year, Stewart again made a statement on The Daily Show, this time as a guest. However, the focus of the piece was on his journey to Congress, specifically the Senate building to shame Senators who had tweeted that the heroes of 9/11 will never be forgotten but they themselves had forgotten them by not signing on to the bill to renew it. Once again, his advocacy worked and in December 2015, the Act was reauthorised and its coverage extended for another 75 years.

You would imagine that this was the end of the fight but reality is far from that.

In February this year, as the fund was found to have insufficient funding, it was announced that claims made before 1 February would be reduced by 50% while those made after would be reduced by 70%. This was an infuriating development to the Act as many responders still depended on funding to continue their medical treatment. Without aid, many will lose access to treatment and die. However, all that could be seen was the lack of compassion and respect of these heroes among the congressmen and congresswomen as this issue continues to drag on.

Hence, on 11 June 2019, Jon Stewart and various first responders and lobbyists made their voices heard in front of a House Committee - one that had less than 50% in attendance against a room full of people in need of their attention and assistance. With anger and pain in his voice, Stewart spoke for more than 9 minutes, lamenting the inaction of Congress and how that had affected the lives of the first responders. Other than Stewart’s speech, eyes were also turned on to retired NYPD detective Luis Alvarez who was scheduled to go for his 69th chemotherapy the following day but decided to muster all of his strength to fight for his comrades in front of the Committee.

Fortunately, on 12 June, the House Committee voted and passed the fund bill, extending the aid till 2090 and all eyes are now on the Senate to act swiftly and fulfil their promises of not forgetting these heroes.

“They responded in 5 seconds. They did their jobs, with courage, grace, tenacity, humility. 18 years later, do yours!” - Jon Stewart

Watch Jon Stewart's testimony below.

By Eugene Goh