Jon Stewart Pleads Congress to Aid 9/11 First Responders

Brut America

"Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders — and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress." Listen to Jon Stewart's emotional plea to Congress — begging them to reauthorize funding for 9/11 first responders.

Transcript

00:00Behind me, a filled room of 9-11 first responders.

00:06And in front of me, a nearly empty Congress.

00:11Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one.

00:16There is not a person here, there is not an empty chair on that stage that didn't tweet out,

00:36never forget the heroes of 9-11, never forget their bravery,

00:42never forget what they did, what they gave to this country.

00:45Well, here they are. And where are they?

00:50And it would be one thing if their callous indifference and rank hypocrisy were benign, but it's not.

01:01Your indifference costs these men and women their most valuable commodity, time.

01:17So one thing they're running out of.

01:21This should be flipped. This hearing should be flipped.

01:25These men and women should be up on that stage and Congress should be down here answering their questions

01:32as to why this is so damn hard and takes so damn long.

01:41And why no matter what they get, something's always pulled back and they got to come back.

01:45And the idea that you can only give them five more years of the VCF

01:49because you're not quite sure what's going to happen five years from now.

01:53I can tell you, I'm pretty sure what's going to happen five years from now.

01:56More of these men and women are going to get sick and they are going to die.

02:03And I am awfully tired of hearing that it's a 9-11 New York issue.

02:09Al-Qaeda didn't shout death to Tribeca. They attacked America.

02:14And these men and women and their response to it is what brought our country back.

02:22It's what gave a reeling nation a solid foundation to stand back upon,

02:28to remind us of why this country is great, of why this country is worth fighting for.

02:34And you are ignoring them. You can end it tomorrow.

02:41Why this bill isn't unanimous consent and a standalone issue is beyond my comprehension.

02:50And I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation for why.

02:53They responded in five seconds.

02:57They did their jobs with courage, grace, tenacity, humility.

03:09Eighteen years later, do yours.

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