White House praises Jon Stewart for plugging bill to help 9/11 responders

[kpete]

Source: The Hill

White House praises Jon Stewart for plugging bill to help 9/11 responders
By Jordan Fabian - 12/21/10 11:45 AM ET

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs praised television host Jon Stewart on Tuesday for talking about legislation stalled in the Senate that would provide health benefits for 9/11 first responders.

"I think he has put the awareness around this legislation, and that's good," Gibbs said of the "Daily Show" host. During his press briefing, Gibbs said he hoped Stewart could convince two GOP senators to vote to break a filibuster of the bill.

The House passed the legislation earlier this year but Republicans, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), have said they will delay it further. They argue the bill has not been properly vetted by congressional committees. The bill fell two votes short of the 60 needed for cloture when it came up earlier this month.

During his final show of the year, Stewart ripped Republican senators for holding up the $7.4 billion legislation.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/134667-gibbs-praises-jon-stewart-for-plugging-911-health-bill

[roguevalley]

1. John fights for them on a comedy show on cable and the fraggin

white house doesn't say a word. I don't remember when they did. Typical. OF course they would thank him for doing something they won't do: fight for common people.

[EFerrari]

2. I heard that this bill closes a loophole for insurance companies

but didn't really understand what it was. It's not that people don't want the emergency workers covered, it's the scope of closing that loophole (whatever it is?) has much broader consequences for our owners, the insurance companies. Maybe it had something to do with offshoring money?

Can anyone help?

[bonnieS]

3. it was originally paid for by closing loopholes

for corporations that were international but Republicans did not like that so now they want to derive the money from fees on transactions by foreign companies but the Republicans do not like that, either.

[EFerrari]

4. Thanks, bonnieS! n/t

[Lorien]

7. The fact that the RepubliCons don't like it doesn't mean that Team Obama can't

go on as hard an offensive as Jon Stewart has on the issue...unless Obama is again siding with the GOP.

[Lorien]

6. Oh, the White House has plenty to say once it's on the verge of getting tax breaks for Billionaires

or a health Insurance bailout without a public option. They're all over that shit; but for something that serves the bottom 98%? Never.

[Honeycombe8]

10. Gibbs is spokesman for the W.H., isn't he? nt

[SpiralHawk]

5. "Sputter. This sounds like socialism. Sneer." - RepubliCronies, Inc. (R)

[mistertrickster]

8. You mean, change can happen when ordinary citizens get activated?

Wow. I thought that's what we voted for.

[Elmore Furth]

9. Sometimes one person can make a difference.