Thursday night marked the final "Daily Show" of the year -- and the decade -- and Jon Stewart devoted the entire program discussing something near to his heart: the 9/11 First Responders Bill.
Stewart has probably done more segments this year on the legislation known as the Zadroga Bill than any other topic. The bill would provide $7 billion in benefits for those who first responded on 9/11 and are now experiencing subsequent health problems such as cancer and respiratory disease. While it passed the House, Republicans have blocked the bill from advancing in the Senate.
Stewart noted that, while the 9/11 first responders bill is stuck, Congress did manage to pass the controversial tax bill that will extend tax cuts to everyone including the super wealthy.
"Yes!" Stewart exclaimed. "That is astoundingly good news for firefighters who make over $200,000 a year."
Nearly pulling his hair out at one point, Stewart expressed his annoyance at "the party that turned 9/11 into a catchphrase" now blocking legislation to help its heroes. Adding to his frustration, none of the three major networks have covered the story in over two months. Surprisingly, Stewart realized this was actually a job for Fox News, "the nation's leading source of 9/11-based outrage."
But how does the conservative network feel about Republicans blocking the bill? As Stewart showed, Fox News hasn't gotten one 9/11 first responder to talk about why they need the Zadroga Bill. in fact, only one network actually picked up the story in a meaningful way: Al Jazeera.
"Our networks were scooped with a sympathetic Zadroga Bill story by the same network Osama bin Laden sends his mix-tapes to!" Stewart said with frustration. "This is insane!"
In the following segment, which you can watch below, Stewart interviewed four actual 9/11 first responders and heard their response to the Senate logjam. Things get emotional -- it's a must-watch.