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WATCH: Jon Stewart gives hugely emotional speech at Congress as 9/11 victim fund is set to expire

Published 07:18 12 Jun 2019 BST

Updated 08:56 12 Jun 2019 BST

Rory Cashin
WATCH: Jon Stewart gives hugely emotional speech at Congress as 9/11 victim fund is set to expire

Homenews

The first responders of 9/11 are about to lose any monetary government assistance.

On Tuesday evening in Washington D.C., Jon Stewart appeared in front of Congress in support of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), which is set to expire in the year 2020. Stewart pointed out that the members of Congress in front of him left many empty seats, while the victims and family of the victims of 9/11 filled the room behind and around him. The former talk-show host then blasted Congress and the US Government in general for their soon-to-be lack of support for the first responders and their families of the terrorist attack, stating that the initial response time to the 9/11 attacks was just five seconds, with breathing problems setting in almost immediately for those who arrived at Ground Zero to help. 18 years later, and those first responders now depend on that VCF to assist with medical bills from illnesses that have been directly caused by the aftermath of 9/11, and Stewart furiously and emotionally defended them to the Congress members who claim they now need to spend that money elsewhere. Stewart's speech has already been viewed tens of millions of times online since first airing on Tuesday, with huge support for him online coming from Jimmy Kimmel, Bette Middler, Mark Ruffalo, and so many more who have retweeted his words with their own emotional messages. Watch his hugely impassioned speech right here: https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1138533985330577408

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WATCH: Jon Stewart gives hugely emotional speech at Congress as 9/11 victim fund is set to expire