"I'm sorry if I sound angry and undiplomatic," said Stewart, the former host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central. "But I'm angry and you should be, too."
He berated the lawmakers for what he called their "callous indifference" and "rank hypocrisy," campaigning on first responders' issues and commending their heroism, yet not acting in Congress to support them.
"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,'" Stewart said, then motioned to the crowd of first responders behind him. "Well, here they are."
The fund was most recently reactivated in 2015 as part of the reauthorisation of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides healthcare and financial assistance to first responders, volunteers and survivors. The Victim Compensation Fund was supposed to allow people to submit claims until December 18, 2020, but the fund's leadership said in February it would reduce awards because of "funding insufficiency."
Stewart has been advocating for the Victim Compensation Fund since at least 2010, when he devoted nine minutes of The Daily Show to criticising members of Congress who opposed the Zadroga Act. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters at the time that Stewart's activism may have caused "a breakthrough" on the issue.
Stewart did not speak from a written statement, like many who appear in front of committees tend to do. At times, the former late-night host raised his voice. He came close to crying. He begged the committee to take their issues seriously.
"They responded in five seconds - they did their jobs. With courage, grace, tenacity, humility," Stewart said, tearing up and dropping his pen onto the desk. "... Eighteen years later, do yours."
The first responders behind him rose to their feet, erupting into sustained applause as some lawmakers clapped slowly from their seats.
Representative Steve Cohen, D, the chairman of the subcommittee, pushed back against Stewart's criticisms to defend Congress as "the bulwark of democracy" and added that other committee meetings take place at the same time.
"Some members are in their offices visiting with constituents, or they may be watching on television, because this is broadcast. ... Our attendance was pretty good," Cohen said. "All these empty chairs, that's because it's for the full committee. It's not because of disrespect or lack of attention to you."
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, weighed in on Twitter: "thank you Jon Stewart, for making sure "never forget" isn't just a nice-sounding slogan."
As the Washington Post reported:
The 9/11 terrorist attacks have always been personal for Stewart, who said in 2001 that he could see the World Trade Centre from his apartment in Lower Manhattan. Nine days after the attacks killed nearly 3000 people, Stewart appeared behind his wooden desk on The Daily Show, stumbling at first to shirk the awkwardness that comes naturally with a late-night comedy show in the wake of the nation's most unfathomable tragedy. "Tonight's show is obviously not a regular show," he said.
Then came an unforgettable monologue.
"Any fool can blow something up. Any fool can destroy. But to see these guys, these firefighters, these policemen and people from all over the country, literally, with buckets rebuilding ... that is ... that's extraordinary. And that's why we've already won," he said, his voice cracking. "It's light. It's democracy. We've already won. They can't shut that down."
