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Jon Stewart is not kidding when it comes to getting the proper funding to help 9/11 stakeholders and their families continue to suffer the lingering damage of America's biggest terrorist attack.
The former "Daily Show" host told "America's Newsroom" that those who are still suffering for their heroic actions "deserve our attention".
"We do not want the 9/11 community and first responders to see their problem under the rug or ignored," Stewart said.
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"These are men and women who have suffered major illnesses because of their heroic work on" Ground Zero "during September 11 and over the past few months and they deserve our attention."
Stewart is in Washington, DC with John Feal, a September 11 demolition supervisor, to support the "Never Forget Heroes" Fund Act.
The bipartite legislation would ensure that all first responders and survivors who have been injured or suffer from an illness as of today receive their full compensation.
The Victims Compensation Fund of September 11, 2001 announced earlier this month that it was running out of money and that it was cutting payments by 50% to 70%.
"I went to 181 funerals. The pain, the struggle, the fight is real, "Feal told co-host Sandra Smith.
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"When this came into effect, the conversations are: 'Now, do I put gas in the car or do I put food on the table?' Do I keep a roof or do I have to pay for utilities?
"This is real and this political effect is devastating for the 9/11 community."
"It was a fight. It's not something they're not used to, but it's something I find … it's unacceptable. It can not continue, "added Stewart.
"We can not force the men and women who went so heroically to" Ground Zero "and stayed there for 9 or 10 months, also disrupting their lives. We can not force them to fight for it anymore. "
Both men took the opportunity to tell Congress that it was an opportunity for them to turn one of America's horrific moments into a positive event.
"Congress has a chance … I think Congress and the Senate need this more than anything, as it was 18 years ago," Feal said. "They can take our worst day, our worst weeks and our worst months. Especially our most difficult 18 years since then, and we have come together to make the Congress at its best. "
"It's a national embarrassment and crisis," Stewart said. "They have to step up."
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