Even though Jon Stewart is no longer hosting The Daily Show, the comedian is remaining dedicated to one of his favorite causes: making sure the first responders at the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks get medical care. Stewart spoke at a rally in Washington DC Wednesday, pushing for Congress to renew a bill to help them.
.preview.jpg)
Standing with New York’s congressional delegation and law enforcement representatives, Stewart said he was “embarrassed” that public lobbying is needed to get Congress to renew the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, reports CBS News.
Stewart said that he needed to apologize to the first responders because they had to come to Washington to fight for this bill.
“I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for our country. I'm embarrassed for New York,” he said. “I'm embarrassed that you, after serving so selflessly with such heroism have to come down here and convince people to do what's right for the illnesses and difficulties that you suffered because of your heroism and because of your selflessness.”
As The Hill notes, Stewart also warned the first responders that they will be “exposed to possibly toxic levels of bulls**t and arrogance” when they speak with members of Congress. “But these are conditions you may never have faced before. Buckle your seat belts and let’s get this done,” he added.
The bill was passed in 2010, but will expire next month if it is not renewed. It is intended to provide medical coverage for those who helped save lives on 9/11.
Stewart retired from the Daily Show last month.
image: Martin Crook/Comedy Central
There has been a critical error on your website.<\/p>
Learn more about debugging in WordPress.<\/a><\/p>","data":{"status":500},"additional_errors":[]}