Former Comedian and host of Daily Show, Jon Stewar, joined a rally of 100 9/11 rescue workers in the lawn of the US Capitol Building. With his influence, he is urging Congress to permanently renew the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act that is set to expire next month.
According to E!online, Jon Stewart has been fighting for 9/11 first responders for many years now. Back in 2010, the former host covered a segment called "Worst Responders" where a group of 9/11 first responders came to talk about the unwillingness of Congress to pass the bill that grants a health program for those who worked on Ground Zero following the 9/11 attack. Six days after the show aired the segment, the lawmakers passed the Zadroga Act-- an act that was named after NYPD detective James Zadroga who died of respiratory illness after working at Ground Zero.
"I'm embarrassed," was what Jon Stewart, dressed in a New York City Fire Department T-shirt with a red, white and blue ribbon said. "I'm embarrassed for our country. I'm embarrassed for New York, 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." Speaking in front of the responders, with the company of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Carolyn, he continued, "If they can't get this done, I don't have a tremendous amount of hope they can get anything done, this is about as unassailable a piece of legislation as you can possibly have. If you can't get this done, maybe we should shut down the government."
After the rally, according to The Guardian, Jon Stewart and a group of first responders paraded the halls of Congress in an attempt to get attention from the House. He has warned the group, "On the hill, you will be exposed to possibly toxic levels of bulls--t and arrogance," he explained. "You're strong men and women, but these are conditions you may never have faced before. Buckle your seatbelts. Let's get this done."
Jon Stewart may have already left the Daily Show but he has never left the fight. Will his influence in the public be powerful enough to get Congress to renew the health and compensation act for the 9/11 first responders? Or is he starting to enter politics? Leave your thoughts below.
