PoliticsJon Stewartjon stewart 9/119/11 First Responders

This Powerful Image Shows Why Jon Stewart Is Fighting So Hard For 9/11 Heroes

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Senior Editor, Breaking News, HuffPost

The Daily Show shared a powerful image from Jon Stewart's return earlier this week that shows just how vital programs offering aid to 9/11 emergency workers really are.

Stewart went back to his old stomping grounds to lobby for Congress to reauthorize the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which helps cover medical expenses for first responders now suffering from health problems likely caused by toxic substances in the air around Ground Zero in the days after the 9/11 attacks. He brought with him retired FDNY firefighter Kenny Specht, who first appeared on the show years ago as part of a panel of 9/11 first responders fighting for Congress to provide aid.

But three of the panelists who appeared with Specht on that first show didn't join Stewart Monday night.

"Five and a half years ago we did a show, 75 percent of the panel's no longer here," Specht said, noting two of the panelists are ill and one has passed away since the 2010 appearance.

You can watch Stewart and Specht on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" here.

Also on HuffPost:

We'll Never Forget These Heart-Wrenching Images Of 9/11
(01 of19)
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United Airlines Flight 175 closes in on World Trade Center Tower 2 just before impact. (credit:Credit: Associated Press)
(02 of19)
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Smoke pours off World Trade Center Tower 1 and flames explode from Tower 2 as it is struck by American Airlines Flight 175.

 (credit:Credit: AP Photo/Chao Soi Cheong)
(03 of19)
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A fiery blast rocks the south tower of the World Trade Center as the hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston crashes into the building.

 (credit:Credit: Spencer Platt via Getty Images)
(04 of19)
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A person falls from the north tower.

 (credit:Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew/File)
(05 of19)
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Pedestrians flee the area as the south tower collapses.

 (credit:Credit: Associated Press)
(06 of19)
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People stand on a dirt mound at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike as they watch smoke billowing from the remains of the World Trade Center.

 (credit:Credit: Associated Press)
(07 of19)
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People hang out of broken windows of the north tower.

(credit:Credit: AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
(08 of19)
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The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

(credit:Credit: Associated Press)
(09 of19)
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Marcy Borders is covered in dust as she takes refuge in an office building. Borders died in 2015 after a battle with cancer. (credit:Credit: Stan Honda via Getty Images)
(10 of19)
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Survivors make their way through smoke, dust and debris on Fulton Street, about a block from the collapsed towers.

 (credit:Credit: AP Photo/Gulnara Samoilova)
(11 of19)
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The rubble of the World Trade Center smolders.

 (credit:Credit: Alex Fuchs via Getty Images)
(12 of19)
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A tennis shoe and debris, photographed one block from the World Trade Center.

 (credit:Credit: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
(13 of19)
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Photographs show missing friends and relatives in New York on Sept. 20, 2011

 (credit:Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
(14 of19)
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A firefighter breaks down after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.

 (credit:Credit: Mario Tama via Getty Images)
(15 of19)
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A firefighter is covered with ash after the attacks.

(credit:Credit: NY Daily News via Getty Images)
(16 of19)
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Smoke and flames can be seen at the Pentagon shortly after a hijacked jetliner was crashed into the building in Washington, D.C.

 (credit:Credit: Getty Images)
(17 of19)
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An American flag flies in the foreground as one of the World Trade Center towers burns in the background.

 (credit:Credit: Dough Kanter via Getty Images)
(18 of19)
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Mounted police make their way along an access road leading to the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 through the early morning fog on Sept. 12, 2001, in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The plane was hijacked and crashed, killing all 45 people on board.

 (credit:Credit: David Maxwell via Getty Images)
(19 of19)
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Firefighter Kevin Shea of Ladder 35 lies semi-conscious in a debris field with firefighter Ritchie Nogan of 113 standing over him. Shea was the only survivor of his unit. He was carried out by Nogan, two EMS workers and photographer Todd Maisel.

 (credit:Credit: NY Daily News via Getty Images)

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