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Tag: 9 11 first responders
Watch Rand Paul Run From Reporter Asking About 9/11 Bill

Watch Rand Paul Run From Reporter Asking About 9/11 Bill

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Thursday ran away from a New York-based reporter as he was repeatedly asked to explain his decision to block legislation to give money to the 9/11 victims’ compensation fund.

Jeevan Vittal, a reporter for New York City cable news channel NY1, followed Paul through the corridors of Congress and repeatedly asked him to explain his actions.

“Sir, what is the objection to the 9/11 bill that you have in the Senate? Are you going to vote in favor of this bill? Senator Paul do you agree with the assessment that Sen. Gillibrand is making that you’re standing in the way of first responders?” Vittal asked.

Paul did not stop to answer the reporter’s questions, and would not even look at Vittal for most of the encounter.

When he did finally speak to the reporter, instead of addressing the 9/11 fund, Paul told him to watch the conservative Fox News.

“We just did an interview on Fox News, and there’s a lot of good information on there. If you tell your viewers to tune in to Fox News, we have some great stuff on there,” Paul said.

The Fox News segment in question was not particularly illuminating.

Commiserating with host Neil Cavuto, Paul lamented that he had been criticized for his actions by comedian Jon Stewart, who has been a tireless advocate for the first responders.

“Jon Stewart is sometimes funny, sometimes informed but in this case, he’s not funny nor informed,” Paul said.

He also insisted that he held up the bill because “I don’t vote for any spending that is not offset.”

Paul, along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), has been widely criticized for maneuvering to block the bill Wednesday. The bill had received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House. First responder John Feal on Thursday called Paul and Lee “assholes” and said they were “bottom feeders” and “opportunists” for blocking the bill.

As Feal pointed out to CNN, despite his claims of fiscal conservatism, Paul was happy to vote for the Republican tax scam, which was a major giveaway to major corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

Paul blocked money due to first responders, and when he was challenged on it — he ran away.

Published with permission of The American Independent.

IMAGE: File photo of U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaking at the New Hampshire GOP’s FITN Presidential town hall in Nashua.

After Stewart’s Angry Plea, McConnell Will Meet With 9/11 First Responders

After Stewart’s Angry Plea, McConnell Will Meet With 9/11 First Responders

It turns out Mitch McConnell does have the ability to feel shame after all.

The Kentucky Republican is set to meet with ailing 9/11 first responders who have been fighting to reauthorize the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund — which is not only set to expire at the end of next year, but is already running out of money.

With help from comedian and activist Jon Stewart — who gave an impassioned plea to Congress to finally do right by the people who rushed to the rescue after the terrorist attacks that struck New York City nearly two decades ago — the first responders have gained the national spotlight in recent weeks for their quest to get the fund permanent authorization.

McConnell initially played dumb about where the fund’s reauthorization stood.

“Gosh, I hadn’t looked at that lately,” McConnell said after Stewart’s speech. “I’ll have to. We’ve always dealt with that in the past in a compassionate way, and I assume we will again.”

And after Stewart spoke out again — largely blaming McConnell for stonewalling and delaying the reauthorization effort — McConnell was dismissive of Stewart’s anger.

“I don’t know why he’s all bent out of shape,” McConnell said on Fox & Friends about why Stewart was so angry that Congress hadn’t reauthorized the fund yet.

The first responders, for their part, have been battling Congress for years, and place the blame on McConnell’s shoulders for using the victim compensation fund as a political football.

In fact, the first responders say that Democrats have been trying to help but that McConnell has stood in their way of permanently reauthorizing the fund.

John Feal, who founded the FealGood Foundation to help support first responders who fell ill after working to clean up the disaster at Ground Zero, told the New York Post that he and other first responders who are meeting with McConnell are prepared to speak their mind.

“Listen, we come in peace,” Feal told the Post. “But we also — we’re prepared for anything, whether it’s a street fight or Mitch McConnell saying yes.”

We’ll find out soon what tactics the first responders had to take in their meeting.

Published with permission of The American Independent.

IMAGE: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks about the election of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election in Washington, November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts