John Stewart has blasted Senator Rand Paul’s decision to slow down a bill that would guarantee funding for 9/11 first responders as ‘an abomination.’
The former Daily Show host shamed the Kentucky Republican during an interview with Fox News , branding Paul’s decision ‘absolutely outrageous.’
Paul, along with Senator Mike Lee of Utah, objected to fast-tracking the bipartisan bill today that would ensure money would ‘never run out’ for emergency service personnel who risked their lives during the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Jon Stewart (left) and 9/11 first responder John Feal (right) critiqued Senator Paul Rand’s decision to slow down the bill to guarantee them funding until 2092
They objected to New York Senator Karen Gillibrand’s request to pass the bill by unanimous consent.
Senator Rand Paul (left) objected to the fast-tracking of the 9/11 victim compensation fund along with Senator Mike Lee (right)
Stewart has been a massive advocate and campaigner for first responders who were affected by 9/11, many of whom went onto to receive cancer and other serious health problems
Questioning the bills 70 year time-frame, which would take funding up to 2092, Paul stated that new spending should be offset by corresponding cuts.
Paul went onto add that the government currently faces $22 trillion’s worth of debt, a figure that grows every year.
The comment elicited anger from Stewart, who accused Paul of trying to ‘balance the budget on the backs of the 9/11 first responder community.’
Retired Fire Department Lieutenant and 9/11 responder Michael O’Connelll (left), John Feal, center right, and Former Daily Show Host Jon Stewart, speak to Retired New York Police Department detective and 9/11 responder Luis Alvarez during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund on Capitol Hill
The victim compensation fund was created after the 2001 terror attacks and currently the program’s $7.4 billion is rapidly diminishing.
First responders have already been hit heavily by the depleting funds, with administrators cutting benefit payments by up to 70 per cent.
‘Pardon me if I’m not impressed in any way by Rand Paul’s fiscal responsibility virtue signaling,’ Stewart said.
The TV presenter went onto critique Paul for supporting Trump and his trillion dollar tax cuts that he claimed added ‘hundreds of billions of dollars in debt’ to the U.S. deficit.
‘And now he’s going to tell us that a billion dollars a year over 10 years, is just too much for us to handle?’ Stewart said.
‘You know, there are some things that they have no trouble putting on the credit card, but somehow when it comes to the 9/11 first responder community—the cops, the firefighters, the construction workers, the volunteers, the survivors—all of a sudden we’ve got to go through this.’
Stewart (left) and 9/11 first responder Feal (right) have spoken out together against the decision of Senators Paul and Lee
Sat next to Stewart in the interview was John Feal, a 9/11 first responder and activist. Feal said that Paul and Lee were ‘bottom-feeders’ who ‘lack humanity’ and ‘lack leadership.’
Stewart argued that survivors, including Feal, shouldn’t have to ‘drag themselves back to Washington, put their hats in their hands and beg for something that this country should have done 14 years ago.’
Senator Karen Gillibrand (above) has fought back against the objection and said that families are sick of the ‘political games’
‘At some point, we have to stand up for the people who have always stood up for us, and at this moment in time maybe cannot stand up for themselves due to their illnesses and their injuries,’ Stewart added. ‘And what Rand Paul did today on the floor of the Senate was outrageous.’
Senator Karen Gillibrand (above) has fought back against the objection and said that families are sick of the ‘political games’
The anticipated bill is expected to cost $10.2 billion over 10 years, including $4 billion in claims that have already been filed.
Senator Gillibrand said families were fed-up with ‘political games,’ relating to the bill being slowed down after easily passing in the House last week.
Gillibrand went onto add that on the day of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in 2001, ‘there was one group of men and women – our heroes, the bravest among us – who ran the opposite way.’
‘They ran toward danger. They raced up towers. They went into harm’s way to answer the call of duty,’ she said.
Stewart has been a massive advocate and campaigner for first responders who were affected by 9/11, many of whom went onto to receive cancer and other serious health problems
In the months after the attacks, first responders cleaning up the aftermath breathed in toxic air, amid smoke, burning metal, crushed glass, electronics and other hazards.
The incident has led to numerous cancer, respiratory and other diagnoses that prevent many from being able to work.
‘These heroes have since had to quit doing the jobs they love, providing for the families they love because they’re too sick,’ Gillibrand added.
‘They’ve had to give up their income. They’ve had to give up their dreams and their future. They’ve had to face the terrifying reality that they are actually going to die because of what they did on 9/11 and the months thereafter.’
Gillibrand and Senator Chuck Schumer have urged Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring the bill before the senate as early as Thursday.
McConnell has agreed to call the vote before congress goes on August recess.
Schumer said: ‘The minute this bill hits the floor, it will pass.’