Former talk show host Jon Stewart gave a speech on the steps of the Capitol on Tuesday advocating a bill to benefit veterans.
Senate hearings on HR 3967 began Tuesday, but according to Stewart, it is taking an “unconscionable” amount of time to pass the bill.
“You’re going to have a hearing today, and you’re going to hear a lot of nonsense about ‘is this responsible?'” Stewart said. “They’re all going to say the same thing: ‘We want to do it, we want to support the veterans, but we want to do it the right way. We want to be responsible.'”
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“They had their chance to be responsible, and they blew it.”
The bill in question, the Honoring our PACT Act, would establish a presumption of service connection for 23 new conditions, namely respiratory conditions and cancers for those exposed to burn pits along with other airborne hazards. Approximately 3.5 million veterans with conditions as a result of burn pits stand to benefit.
“Let’s dig a giant f****** pit, 10 acres long, and burn everything in Washington with jet fuel, and then let me know how long they want to wait,” Stewart said. “Here’s the bottom line: You cannot be ‘America First’ when you put veterans last.”
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The bill, first introduced last fall, passed the house in early March. The idea for the legislation has been in the works for 15 years, according to Stewart.
