Thread by @Scout_Finch

A moment of silence for 9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez, who died of cancer this morning. Here he is last month asking Congress to take action and fulfill their obligation to provide care for the survivors of 9/11.

Mitch McConnell has yet to bring the bill.

Alvarez had 69 rounds of chemotherapy before he finally entered hospice. It was courageous and unselfish for him to make the trek to Washington, D.C. with Jon Stewart to speak to Congress. These were his last moments and he was still acting heroically.

This is why there must be a permanent solution to the care of 9/11 responders and people from lower Manhattan who survived the attack and had to live in the toxic dust, teachers and students at a nearby school. They deserve our care and they shouldn't have to keep fighting.

I'm really broken up about the death of Mr. Alvarez. I am angry these men and women lived/worked in such unsafe conditions after the air was stated to be acceptable.

I went to the WTC site only two weeks after 9/11 and it was still on fire. Smoke was still billowing.

Everything for blocks around was covered in a light grey dust/debris. It was everywhere. My eyes and throat began burning within minutes after arriving. I pulled my shirt up over my mouth and nose. It was obviously toxic.

These men and women worked in it day in and day out.

They deserve better. It's as simple as that.

I know Mitch McConnell said he will call for a vote before the August recess, but it is shameful he has to be shamed into it Jon Stewart and Luis Alvarez and other responders.

"Never Forget" means action, not just bumper stickers.