Policy

Jon Stewart shames Congress over 9/11 health compensation, and I was there

MedCity News' Neil Versel was there when Jon Stewart returned to "The Daily Show" to shame Congress for not providing perpetual healthcare to sick and injured 9/11 first responders.

Once again, politics is getting in the way of American healthcare.

Nearly five years ago, Congress passed and President Obama signed the James L. Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act, providing funding for healthcare services for rescue and recovery workers injured or sickened by exposure to toxins at the World Trade Center.

The Zadroga Act was named after James Zadroga, a New York City police officer who died in 2006 from respiratory disease linked to his work at ground zero. Passage should have been a slam dunk, but it was not easy.

Back in 2010, Senate Republicans filibustered the legislation, citing concerns about the $7.4 billion price tag and government bureaucracy in general. That fall, comedian Jon Stewart used his bully pulpit on “The Daily Show” to put public pressure on congressional holdouts who refused to pay for ongoing care related to the heroic deeds of first responders on that awful day in 2001.

In the name of oversight, Congress had the legislation sunset on Oct. 1, 2015. It hasn’t been renewed, thanks to some ugly politics. Enter Jon Stewart once again.

Stewart retired from “The Daily Show” in August and hadn’t been back since — until Monday night. And I just happened to be there for his return, while in New York on a day off for personal reasons.

“The Daily Show,” now hosted by Trevor Noah, didn’t announce a guest for Monday, but staff informed the studio audience that something special was about to happen.

Right after the first commercial break, a casually dressed, bearded Stewart walked onto the set as Noah started reading what seemed like a typical “fake news” story. The old host then proceeded to steal the show, leaving audience members alternating between laughter, anger, joy and tears.

Viewers saw video of Stewart visiting Capitol Hill last week, accompanied by some sick or injured 9/11 first responders. The group actually convinced Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to change his mind and agree to support the reauthorization. That, according to Stewart, makes 67 senators and 260 members of the House who want to make the provisions permanent, more than enough to pass the bill.

Watch:

Somehow, though, the reauthorization bill still has not made it for a vote. After a break, the former “Daily Show” host blamed congressional leadership, namely House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), for holding up the legislation for purely political reasons.

“But I believe when push comes to shove, Paul Ryan’s going to do the right thing,” Stewart said. McConnell remains an “enormous obstacle,” the admittedly liberal Stewart continued, hinting by way of some old video clips that McConnell also was a hypocrite.

He then reconvened a panel of New York City first responders from five years ago, poignantly with three of the five chairs empty. Retired firefighter Kenny Specht said that two previous participants were too sick to attend and the other was dead.

A visibly upset Stewart called for another public shaming of Congress, particularly McConnell. “Kentucky, it’s up to you,” he said. His strategy? A social media campaign with the hashtag #worstresponders. Twitter has been lighting up all day Tuesday; an official “Daily Show” tweet has more than 8,000 retweets.

The audience was alternatively laughing and crying throughout, as you probably can’t fully appreciate from this clip:

Some of Specht’s former colleagues were seated in the first row. During the commercial break immediately after the second Zadroga segment, Stewart hugged each and every one of them, as Bruce Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own” played in the studio.

Photos: Twitter user TheDailyShow, Neil Versel

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