Comedian Jon Stewart visited Capitol Hill with Sept. 11 first responders to speak to Republican lawmakers about conserving health insurance funding for those affected by the terrorist attacks Monday.
In an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation, Stewart and three 9/11 first responders explained why they were inside the U.S. Capitol, saying they are lobbying Republican lawmakers to try and get a bill, which would provide funding to victims of 9/11 and first responders.
“People dying of cancer has no leaning which way. It affects Democrats and Republicans. We’re independent, liberal, Republicans, conservative, Democrats today. We don’t care what you are — just don’t be an asshole,” John Field, a 9/11 first responder, told TheDCNF regarding partisan support for the cause.
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“The funding is being slashed, so we’re trying to lobby to get the funding refurbished and have the VCF [Victim Compensation Fund] bill extended through the life of the Zadroga Act,” Stewart told TheDCNF.
Field explained he started a foundation to help victims and received support from Stewart early on. (RELATED: 17 Years Later, The 9/11 Death Toll Is Still Growing)
“These guys are … cops and firefighters, corrections officers, but I got hurt before they got sick and I started a foundation, knowing that people would get sick. The federal government finally caught up to me doing this for 15 years. These guys — they were bored, they were sick, they were dying and they joined me,” Field continued.
Stewart and the first responders said they visited Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina’s offices Monday and hope to get positive responses.
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