Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he doesn’t know why Jon Stewart is so “bent out of shape” over securing health care for 9/11 responders, saying the Senate will “take care” of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund.
The former host of “The Daily Show,” who pleaded with House lawmakers last week to reauthorize the fund, questioned whether McConnell would ensure its passage in the GOP-controlled upper chamber.
“He has always held out until the last minute, and only then after intense lobbying and public shaming has he even deigned to move on it,” Stewart told “Fox News Sunday.”
McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, reacted by saying that “many things in Congress happen at the last minute.”
“We have never failed to address this issue. And we will address it again,” McConnell said on “Fox & Friends” Monday. “I don’t know why he’s all bent out of shape. We will take care of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.”
He was asked why there were few members of the House Judiciary subcommittee on hand when Stewart testified last Tuesday.
“That frequently happens because members have a lot of things going on at the same time,” McConnell said. “It sounds to me like he is looking for some way to take offense.”
“There is no way we won’t address this problem appropriately,” he continued.
The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed legislation permanently authorizing the 9/11 fund last Wednesday.
The bill is expected to easily pass the Democrat-controlled House and will then head to the Senate for a vote.