Today, Explained - Never forget

Episode Date: June 21, 2019

The 9/11 first responders and Jon Stewart are fighting Congress for what they hope is the last time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Devlin Barrett, Washington Post. There was a lot of talk about 9-11's first responders in Washington this week, last week too. I think everyone has the images of these first responders rushing to the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, seared into memory. But how long did they stick around once they got there? How long were they there? They were there working for months. When the attack first happened, in the initial days, government officials predicted this cleanup could take, you know, multiple years. And what happened, in fact, was they actually got the bulk of the cleanup, the real work of it done in basically a year.

But those first months were brutal. And they were brutal emotionally, and they were brutal physically. And in part, folks forget this now, but you know, the fires in the debris pile burned for months. So even as they're trying to find remains, they are working around fires. And that doesn't even get into the question of all the toxic dust that's in the air. You know, these are basically pulverized concrete and steel buildings. It's just an incredible amount of debris, an incredible amount of dust. And all these folks are working in that space for months and months and months. And one of the factors in people getting sick, frankly, was that especially in the early days, weeks, and months, a lot of the people who were doing that work would not come off the pile.

They would find ways to work longer than they were supposed to. They would find ways to pull more shifts than they were supposed to. It was emotionally difficult to get some guys off the pile. And a lot of those guys started without any kind of breathing protection, breathing apparatus. Did people know how toxic it was down there? I guess when you think of concrete and steel and dust, you don't necessarily think of cancer or death. You just think of a mess. I think there was a common sense knowledge, but common sense knowledge is different from scientific knowledge. And so this developed in stages. And so in the very early stages, what you saw was a lot of what they called World Trade Center cough.

And guys, mostly firefighters and construction workers and others who were on the pile constantly would have this cough that just never went away. And obviously a lot of that is about the particulate, the dust that gets into the lungs and can't really leave, but your body is trying to get it out. And so there was a common sense awareness that they were getting sick. But at the same time, and this became a big political and legal fight later, the EPA was issuing statements that tried to reassure particularly those folks living and working in lower Manhattan around the site that it would be okay for them to go to work and to home because they did not perceive a health threat in the surrounding areas. And how long before the World Trade Center cough turns into actual illnesses for the first responders? Well, it's interesting. So there's two ways to think about it.

One, some folks got that cough and it never went away. Some folks got that cough and two or three years later it went away. And some folks never had the cough. And three or four or five years later, they started having pretty significant gastrointestinal problems, pretty significant breathing problems. And so within, I would say, three to four to five years of the attacks, you have sort of this broad anecdotal pattern of people being sick. And not just being sick with like the immediate cough effect, but people being sick with other things that they feel like they went to ground zero healthy and they ultimately left ground zero unhealthy people. And that starts a very intense political and legal debate over what is the connection to their time at ground zero. Some have tried to portray this debate as a debate between those who support 9-11 workers and those who don't. This is a gross distortion of the facts. There was never any doubt about supporting the first responders. It was about doing it right.

Was it partisan? Were the skeptics Republicans and the voters who supported it Democrats? It was principally Republicans who were skeptical of it. That is accurate. And that has maintained through this process. And, you know, a lot of what happened in Congress following 9-11, whether you're talking about the month after or the decade after, is really about shaming people into, you know, quote unquote, fixing the problem. We're patriots to this country. We went down there for the love of this country and for the love of our city. To get the first version of this fund passed,

Jon Stewart ends up really taking up the mantle of this cause and running with it. And one of the things he does that ends up being very effective is he ends up having a show where he just calls a bunch of firefighters and construction workers, other people who are sick and who are speaking for those who are sick. And he just brings them on the show and he has them tell their stories. I remember watching it. It was a real departure for The Daily Show, it felt like, to be that emotional and raw. For us to be here now, nine years later,

still fighting just for our health. You are suffering from stage four throat cancer. I have stage four inoperable throat cancer and on both lymph nodes. And you're suffering from? I got heart disease and lung disease. From being down there? From being down there. Heart, lung, back, brain issues.

Cancer. And these are all from being down there. From being down there. Heart, lung, back, brain issues. Cancer. And these are all from being down there? Definitely. So you've got Barack Obama in the White House. You've got, I believe, a democratically controlled House and Senate. Right. And Jon Stewart still needed to go on TV and shame Congress into doing this? Right.

On this vote, the yeas are 206, the nays are 60. The motion is adopted. And in 2011, they finally create in law a victim compensation fund for the people who've gotten sick. It's got improved oversight, so money isn't siphoned away from the people who really need it. We put time limits on the legislation so Congress can come back and review what's worked and where improvements can be made. It puts billions of dollars into this effort, and it's envisioned as lasting for five years, and that was considered politically necessary so that some of the more skeptical lawmakers wouldn't have to vote for an open-ended program.

The fund that gets approved, who does it ultimately cover? Is it firefighters, cops, is it EMT, is it construction workers who showed up to do this heavy work? The answer is yes. However, there's also another important group that becomes eligible for this, and that's the folks who are living and working around Ground Zero in lower Manhattan around that time. Part of the concern for those folks was is they were given sort of an overly optimistic description of the health risks of being down there. And so even if their exposure was less, they may have behaved differently in part because of what the government told them. And so they are included in that. But that deal

in itself obviously creates future tensions and future fights. Yeah. What happens four years later when the first sort of timeframe of this bill expires? So the extension passes without quite the same degree of drama and tension and doubt that it took the first one to get done. Which I guess brings us to now. Right. This third fight to compensate the first responders of 9-11. What's going on this time? How is this time different from the first two? moment in this whole process is in February when the special master for the fund, the person who

administers the fund announces, look, I've warned you that we're running out of money. We are now running out of money at an even faster clip than we had anticipated. So going forward, new awards for folks' injuries and deaths are going to be cut by 70%, up to 70%. And more and more claims are coming in, and they're getting different kinds of claims now. And here's the thing, we are approaching a point where in the not distant future, there will have been more people whose illness deaths are linked to 9-11 than were killed on 9-11. Because we're going to pass, you know, it was just under 3,000 folks killed that day. And we are at, I believe, something like 2,400, 2,500, something like that in terms of death claims for illnesses after the fact.

And as this is happening, the money in this fund is running out. So what happens, right, is you now have a situation where everyone involved in the fund, everyone who cares about the fund realizes it's running out of cash much faster than they thought it would. And so that creates a sense of urgency for a lot of those folks, including the activists, including the New York lawmakers and including Jon Stewart. So just last week, there's a hearing where this all comes to a head. And at that hearing, you have testimony from a bunch of people who are either very sick or lost loved ones. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Lou Savras. One former NYPD detective. And a proud military veteran. Described how he has gone through 68 rounds of chemotherapy. And he's clearly very frail.

And he looks just emaciated. Please understand that we are not here for anything for ourselves. We became police officers, firefighters, paramedics, to help others. We went to Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and Shanksville to help people first and then help their families bury someone or something. We were there with one mission, and we left after completing that mission. I have been to many places in this world,

excuse me, and done many things, but I can tell you that I did not want to be anywhere else but ground zero when I was there. We were part of showing the world that we would never back down from terrorism and that we could all work together. No racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, no racism, No races, no colors, no politics. And part of what is so grim about this issue and all the folks involved in it is, you know, there were a bunch of folks like Lou who aren't here anymore because they have died. It's a very emotionally, just sort of a bit of a powder keg issue for a lot of folks. And so what happens is after Lou speaks at the hearing,

Jon Stewart speaks. And Jon Stewart, you know, we haven't really heard a ton from him just in the public eye in a long while. And he just went off. Behind me, a filled room of 9-11 first responders, and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. Your indifference cost these men and women their most valuable commodity. Time. It's the one thing they're running out of. They did their jobs with courage, grace, tenacity, humility. 18 years later, do yours. You know, there's something about the megaphone of celebrity in American politics that really makes a difference. And a lot of people heard Jon Stewart say it. And so what happened was right in that moment, not just House Democrats, but House Republicans basically pledged on the spot. We're going to pass this.

So that's sort of a small victory for Jon Stewart. But then on Sunday, he goes on Fox News. Mitch McConnell has been the white whale of this since 2010. He has always held out until the very last minute. And only then, under intense lobbying and public shaming, has he even deigned to move on it. He's trying to just sort of put it squarely in McConnell's lap. And McConnell's response seems to suggest it worked a fair bit. We've never failed to address this issue. And we will address it again.

I don't know why he's all been out of shape, but we will take care of the 9-11 Victims' Compensation Fund. It will be fully funded. Yeah. Which is a really important win for Stewart and the advocates because McConnell has now publicly pledged to do something that he wasn't publicly pledging to do up until all this happened in the last few days. So that becomes important in terms of setting the tone and the framing of when do we get this bill on the Senate floor. But Jon Stewart doesn't stop after he hears that from Mitch McConnell. He then goes on Colbert to continue to harangue him. We've spent a year compiling bipartisan co-sponsors and advocates for this bill, all in the hopes that when it finally gets to the great Mitch McConnell's desk, you won't jack us around like you've done in the past.

Right. He has a very powerful skill set, and he has a very loud megaphone. So if you want to know why the 9-11 community has been out of shape over these past, let's call it 18 years, meet with them tomorrow as soon as possible, and don't make them beg for it. You could pass this thing as a standalone bill tomorrow. Meet with them. I beg of you. Meet with them. Which would have been Tuesday. Right. Didn't happen.

Didn't happen. And look, there's a gamesmanship here, right? Yeah. If you're Jon Stewart, if you're the lawmakers who want this passed, part of the dynamic now is you want to get this thing passed by the House and over to the Senate as quickly as possible. You don't want the metal to cool down when Mitch McConnell has just so recently said, yes, we will do this. What's the ask right now? There is not a dollar estimate on the new legislation that's expected to be voted on, but they will probably have a cost estimate by the time it gets voted on in the Senate, at least. So the ask is to extend the compensation fund essentially for

decades until 2090. And 2090 means extend this legislation until throughout the lifetimes of anyone who's there on 9-11. Right. At the end of the day, I mean, compared to the amount of money that was spent on, say, the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War, which were fought in the name of these attacks, is there like a disconnect here between what was sacrificed and what should be paid? So I think there is, but I think it's a disconnect that is in some ways very American and very familiar. And look, is it true that

there are plenty of lawmakers for whom spending on a war, you know, there doesn't seem to be a price too high and spending on a social program that doesn't seem to be a price too low? Yeah, I think that's part of, but that's been part of our politics

for a long time. Having said that, a lot of these activists and certainly Jon Stewart know what they're doing and they've been here before and they've proven they can win some of these fights. අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි අපි How you doing? Sober. I don't drink. I donated a kidney, so I gave it up. Kind of sucks. I'm sorry to hear it. Let me just have you say your name and how you want us to identify you on our show.

John Field, 9-11 Responder, advocate, founder of the Feel Good Foundation. Let me just have you say your name and how you want us to identify you on our show. John Field, 9-11 Responder, advocate, founder of the Feel Good Foundation. And John, a lot of first responders, journalists who covered the story, including Devlin Barrett, who I just spoke with from the Washington Post, they credit you with getting this victim's compensation fund passed into law. And I want to hear how that happened. Can we start with September 11th? I think everybody in America and around the world remembers that beautiful Tuesday morning. And I was doing a large demolition job in Nanuet, New York, which is about 45 minutes to an hour outside of New York. And we knew we were under attack and everybody went home.

And it's about a two and a half hour drive home for me. Literally took 35 minutes. There was nobody on the road. And I probably did about 120 miles an hour the whole way. And then I never actually made it home. I made it to my home office where I worked. And we started packing gear immediately because we knew we were going to be needed. And later that night, we got the call. And the next morning we went in. I was a supervisor in a demolition company. I was placed in charge of delegating orders from the top to the bottom. And I worked there for five days until I was unfortunately horribly injured. What do you mean? What happened?

Unfortunately, on September 17th, 8,000 pounds roughly rolled over and crushed my left foot. We were pulling steel from a pile, and the person that was on the other side was shorter than me, and I'm not that tall. So for the record, I'm five, seven in the morning. And, uh, uh, he was cutting a piece of steel and that piece of steel snapped and rolled over. I jumped out of the way, but it caught my foot. I spent 10 days in Bellevue hospital, uh, where I developed gangrene. And then, um, I spent 10 weeks in North Shore University on Long Island in Plainview, being septic with organs shut down, almost dying. I wound up losing half of my left foot.

And at that time, it was devastating. But you know the old saying, there's always somebody worse off than you. After going to therapy for myself, I went to group therapy, and I met other people, and they were sick. And I had nothing to prove. I had a visible injury. There were hundreds, if not thousands not thousands of people that was sick and they couldn't prove it. What kind of sick? Respiratory problems cancers you name it and these men and women uniform and non-uniform needed help And I didn't need 9-11 to know right from wrong I needed 9-11 to show everybody how my mother raised me and while my mother passed away in 2006

I still heed her advice because I'm afraid she's going to come back from her grave, smack me in the back of the head. Tell me how you get involved with this 9-11 Victims Compensation Fund. How do you go from being bedridden, from being in therapy, to saying, I'm going to start advocating for these people?

And how exactly do you fit into that fund? What do you start doing? Well, listen, I'm never the smartest man in the room. And right now, I'm technically the only man in this room. So I surrounded myself with good people. And I had to fight for my own benefits, workman's comp, social security. That was hard enough. And then I had to see other people fight. And I started a foundation to help them. Where did you start? What was it called? The Feel Good Foundation, hence the last name.

And I've also donated $6 million to those affected by 9-11 and other 9-11 organizations. You know, I've had 30-something surgeries. I had a hip procedure the other day in between my trips to D.C. I'm in a lot of pain physically and mentally, but I just see so much pain and suffering. And I think if you have the ability to protect people, that's what you do. And I'm putting others before myself. How many times have you been down to D.C. since 2001 for this cause? 278 times. Say it again. 278 times. You've been down here almost 300 times fighting for money for the survivors of 9-11. Well, it's enough to circumnavigate the earth twice.

What do you say when you come face-to-face with these lawmakers after coming here 278 times? What do you say? Are you tired of this yet? Yeah, I'm tired. But again, people like Ray Fifo who passed away two years ago, my dear friend. Barry Galfano, Gray Quabelle, everybody that... Listen, my life sucks. Everybody I become friends with dies.

You're going to make me cry. Louis Alvarez is in the hospital, in hospice, about to die. And the guy came down I-95 to be transported and testify before he was put in hospice. These men and women have more patriotism, more class. They're just better people than anybody in Congress and the Senate. Every elected official on 9-11, whether a new freshman or sixth term congressman or senator, they all come out on 9-11 and say, never forget, blah, blah, blah. I'm a patriot. Look at me wave my flag. I'm wearing my red, white, and blue hat.

I'm wearing a thong with a flag. Come on, enough. Those people worked for us. The pens that they use, the paper that they write on, the chairs that they sit in, the computers that they use, we pay for that shit. That's ours. And they call me a guerrilla lobbyist.

I had to look that up. I had to look up guerrilla first. Then I had to look up lobbyist. What's a guerrilla lobbyist. I had to look that up. I had to look up guerrilla first, then I had to look up lobbyist. What's a guerrilla lobbyist? For me now, it's a badge that I proudly wear. Listen, they've been trying to demonize me for the last 15 years. It hasn't worked. And I'm not going to pile on Mitch McConnell week because he got piled on pretty good. But me and Mitch McConnell are going to meet in the near future and we're going to have it out. What are you going to say

to him this time? I'm going to say, sir, you have a chance to take our worst day, our worst weeks, our worst months, and our worst 18 years. And you have a chance

to make this your finest hour and step forward and be a leader that everybody expects you to be. And if he was to get on board and say, move this, then those like Lindsey Graham, Tom Tillis, and Burr from North Carolina, and the senior senator from Florida, that tiny little guy, I can't think of his name again. What is it?

Marco Rubio? I believe it might be Marco Rubio. Yeah, well, he has failed about 4,800 people in the World Trade Center health program in Florida. Cops, firefighters, construction workers, volunteers, ATF agents, FBI agents, retired people affected by 9-11 living in the state of Florida. And he hasn't co-sponsored the bill yet. So, yeah, my Richter scale for bullshit just goes off and goes haywire when these people spew from that hole under their nose. If you get this bill passed, this next one, and it's extended through 2090,

you get people covered for the rest of their lives. There's no other fight for those who survived at Ground Zero. What's next? I'll tell you now because I've been talking about it. Jon Stewart and I have been working on the burn pit victims for the veterans

coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. And those men and women who fight every day overseas for our freedom, they're affected by the burn pits. And they have the same cancers. They were exposed

to the same toxins as us. And the military has let them down. And, you know, my tombstone is going to say he tried. It's in my will. My family, my wife, nobody can mess with me. No name, no data pass. And it's just going to say he tried. People are going to walk by there. Man, underneath all our titles and colors of our skin and our gender and man, we're all skin and bones. We're all the same. I don't care if you're black, white, tall, short, skinny, Catholic, Muslim, Republican, or Democrat, just don't be an asshole. And if you have the power to help people and you have the ability to help people,

then you help people. And if you can't do that, then move aside, get out of the Feel Good Foundation. It's F-E-A-L, like his last name. I'm Sean Ramos from This Is Today Explained. Thank you.