Jon Stewart Continues to Do More for Vets & Other Americans Than the Republicans in Congress

Jon Stewart is back on Capitol Hill, this time advocating for health care for U.S. military veterans to treat the debilitating conditions brought on by their service.

Stewart joined Kirsten Gillibrand to support the Democratic Senator’s bill, which would offer financial assistance to vets suffering from ailments likely caused by exposure to “burn pits”—toxic areas of military bases designated for burning waste. Right now, vets are being denied medical coverage for a whole host of conditions ranging from asthma to multiple forms of cancer, on the grounds that they can’t definitively prove their ailments were caused by the burn pits.

Gillibrand’s bill is designed to apply “common sense and common decency” to addressing those claims. “If you served when the military used burn pits, and you are sick, you are covered. It should be that simple,” she tweeted Tuesday.

Stewart joined Gillibrand on Capitol Hill for what he called “another exciting episode of ‘When is America going to start acting like the great country we keep telling ourselves we are?'”

Jon Stewart introduces bill for sick veterans: ’Welcome to another exciting episode of ‘When is America going to start acting like the great country we keep telling ourselves we are?’ … Our veterans lived 24/7 next to toxic smoke … It’s bullsh*t.’ pic.twitter.com/uwI0vbC8VX

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) September 15, 2020

Stewart came before Congress last summer to advocate for 9/11 first responders, who were being similarly ignored under maddeningly similar circumstances. Both were subjected to toxic conditions, both involving large amounts of jet fuel, both in the name of helping their country—although, as Stewart notes, in one case, those conditions were the result of a terrorist attack. In the other, it was the work of our own military.

These burn pits and their purported effects are horrifying. Fox News’ investigative unit has been reporting extensively on the dangers they pose to the country’s military:

Many soldiers said the pits were a crude method of incineration in which every piece of waste was burned, including plastics, batteries, appliances, medicine, dead animals and even human waste.

The items often were set ablaze with jet fuel as the accelerant. The pits burned more than 1,000 different chemical compounds day and night. Most service members breathed in toxic fumes with no protection. According to a registry created by the VA, over 200,000 vets said the exposure made them ill, but the department denied assistance to many of them.

In his emotional speech calling for the extension of the compensation fund for September 11 first responders, Stewart called out Congress’ hypocrisy. Talking to a nearly empty room, Stewart said, “There is not a person here–there is not an empty chair on that stage that didn’t tweet out ‘Never forget the heroes of 9/11, never forget their bravery, never forget what they did, what they gave to this country. Well, here they are. And where are they [the representatives]?”

Plenty of Democrats are ignoring veterans’ health issues, just as they ignored those first responders, because Republicans don’t have the entire market cornered on hypocrisy and putting money over humans lives. But the GOP does love to declare themselves the “patriotic” party, the fighters for freedom and defenders of our troops. It also can’t be ignored that Mitch McConnell, a Republican, is responsible for so many bills like these going cold in the Senate.

Here’s Jon Stewart smirking at Moscow Mitch following a major victory for 9/11 survivors and activists. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund was extended to cover first responders for the rest of their lives, a major defeat for the GOP, who stalled the bill. #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/QKfuPvpTMz

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) September 11, 2020

Donald Trump was recently reported as having mocked the military and those who died in battle, allegedly calling fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers.” And while many Republicans may have wanted to distance themselves from those comments, Trump is not the only Republican to disrespect the military they so claim to love and respect, not even close.

I’m no fan of the military-industrial complex but if our government is going to send people into disaster sites and war zones and expose them to toxic conditions while they’re there—and collect exorbitant amounts of taxpayers’ money in the name of “military spending” throughout all of it—they’d better treat them like actual humans when they get back. Because right now, our government, and the GOP especially, is loudly declaring a lot of people to be heroes while denying them their basic humanity.

(image: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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