Dear MoveOn member,
Jon Stewart here.
I'll be honest. I'm annoyed that I have to write this email to you asking for money. Actually, I'm pissed.
I'm writing to you because once again, Congress is failing to fulfill their moral obligation to the heroes who sacrificed their lives and health on September 11, 2001.
Here's the deal: The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, the fund created to meet the needs of 9/11 first responders and survivors, is running out of money. And now, 45,000 people—who 17 years later are still suffering from 9/11-related chronic health problems—are getting stiffed. Congress still hasn't passed a bill to make the fund permanent, even though there's bipartisan support and more than 200,000 MoveOn members signed my petition in the last few weeks.
I've teamed up with an organization called the Feal Good Foundation to demand that Congress fully fund the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund now and into the future—and I'm asking you to stand with the 9/11 heroes by making a donation to the Feal Good Foundation today. Will you make a tax-deductible donation now?
More than 10,000 people have been certified with 9/11-related cancer, and 45,000 people have 9/11-related chronic health problems of one kind or another—most have more than one.
In fact, more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses since September 11 than died in the attacks themselves. John Feal's Facebook page is still full of tributes—almost daily—to those who are dying from the health problems caused by the attacks.
These people were told that the air was safe to breathe at ground zero. It wasn't.
Then Congress said if the 9/11 victims gave up their rights to sue for damages, the federal government would meet their needs.
And now they're being stiffed.
There are no words for the depth of this moral failure, but you can help by making a donation to the Feal Good Foundation today.
This organization was created by John Feal, himself a 9/11 first responder. John's foot was crushed by an 8,000-pound steel beam.
But he didn't give up. He didn't even slow down. He started the Feal Good Foundation to provide help for firefighters, police officers, and other heroes who need help with physical and emotional illnesses and compensation.
Your tax-deductible donation will help fund travel expenses for 9/11 survivors to come to D.C. to talk to their representatives—and anything left over will be used directly to pay for everything from prescription drugs to basic home utility bills for first responders in need.
Will you make a 100% tax-deductible donation to the Feal Good Foundation today?
It's just maddening that 17 years after September 11, these survivors and first responders are once again being forced to go to D.C., hat in hand, to ask for what's already owed to them.
In 2010, I had four 9/11 first responders on my show to talk about the Zadroga bill, the bill they were fighting for back then to make sure the people suffering from 9/11-related health problems got the help they needed. The bill was stuck in the Senate, but we pushed and fought and got it passed.
Then, five years later, funding under the Zadroga Act expired, and I invited the same four 9/11 first responders to come on the show again—except only one of them was left. Two were too sick to come on and another had passed away.
Again, we fought and got another extension of the funding—which today is once again running out.
I have no witty send off. I don't feel like making jokes. I want this to be over so that these people can finally go home and know that their country did right by them. Will you stand with them by making a tax-deductible donation to the Feal Good Foundation?
Thanks for all you do.
–Jon Stewart
Contributions to MoveOn.org Civic Action are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. This email was sent to Eddie Alfaro on March 14th, 2019. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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