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Jon Stewart lashes out at Congress over 9/11 victims fund

Jon Stewart, the former host of "The Daily Show," testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
(Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)
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Comedian Jon Stewart is scolding Congress for failing to ensure that a victims’ compensation fund set up after the 9/11 attacks never runs out of money.

Stewart, a longtime advocate for 9/11 responders, angrily called out lawmakers for failing to attend Tuesday’s hearing on a bill that would ensure the fund can pay benefits for the next 70 years. Pointing to rows of empty seats at a House Judiciary Committee hearing room, Stewart said “sick and dying” first responders and their families came to Washington for the hearing, only to face a nearly deserted dais.

He called the lack of attendance “an embarrassment to the country and a stain on the institution” of Congress.

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Lawmakers said they support the bill and were monitoring the hearing amid other congressional business.

Watch video of Jon Stewart plead for Congress to reauthorize funding for 9/11 victims>>

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