The House Judiciary Committee passed a reauthorization bill for the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund on Wednesday, a day after comedian Jon Stewart lambasted lawmakers for failing to attend a hearing on the bill.
The bill will now head to the House floor, where it is expected to pass, although there are concerns about whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will take it up if it makes it through the House. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was “imploring, pleading, even begging” McConnell to bring the bill to the floor as soon as it passes in the House.
Stewart, the former host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and a longtime advocate for 9/11 first responders and their families, called the sparse attendance by lawmakers “an embarrassment to the country and a stain on the institution” of Congress. He added that the disrespect shown to first responders now suffering from respiratory ailments and other illnesses “is utterly unacceptable.”Video
JON STEWART LASHES OUT AT CONGRESS OVER 9/11 VICTIMS FUND
Stewart continued his lament later in the day during an interview with Fox News’ Shepherd Smith.
“That drove me nuts,” the comedian said after being asked by Smith about the empty seats he saw on the Hill. “They kept saying it’s a ‘sub-subcommittee.’ There’s still people on the sub-subcommittee that aren’t here. – READ MORE