(FOX) - A 9/11 first responder has died two weeks after an emotional appearance on Capitol Hill with Jon Stewart, his family said Saturday.
Luis "Lou" Alvarez, a former bomb-squad detective for the NYPD, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016 and underwent 69 rounds of chemotherapy. He was 53.
The cop appeared with Stewart, the former “Daily Show” host, before a House committee June 11 to urge congressional action on renewing the 9/11 Victim’s Compensation Fund.
Stewart drew headlines after criticizing lawmakers who failed to attend the hearing.
First responders this week met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said a vote would be held on renewing the fund by August. Stewart had singled out McConnell for criticism over the funding issue.
More than 40,000 people have applied to the compensation fund which covers illnesses potentially related to being at the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon or Shanksville, Penn., after the 2001 attacks, Fox News reported. More than $5 billion in benefits have been awarded out of the $7.4 billion fund, with about 21,000 claims pending.
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