Sept. 11 fury at ‘a-hole’ GOPers

Hero rips Senate duo stalling vic funds

The Republican senators holding up a bill to reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund were blasted as “a--holes” by a first-responder-turned-advocate on Thursday, as the penny-pinching pols held firm.

“We’re not begging, we’re demanding. We don’t beg for anything anymore,” John Feal told CNN, blasting Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah for stymieing what seemed like the bill’s clear path to passage.

“They work for us,” said Feal, a 9/11 first responder and founder of the FealGood Foundation. “They should be begging for forgiveness for being a--holes for the past 15 years.”

The bill coasted through the House last week by a vote of 402-12 and has the backing of 73 senators from both sides of the aisle.

But it hit an unexpected snag Wednesday when Paul objected on the Senate floor to the bill coming to a vote and Lee placed a procedural hold on the legislation, effectively stopping the clock.

Both cited fiscal concerns, with Paul wanting to arrange spending cuts to ensure the bill wouldn’t add to the national deficit and Lee proposing that the renewal be limited to 10 years rather than the proposed 72.

The two stood by their positions Thursday, vowing to propose amendments to the bill.

“No matter how good the cause is, we should offset the spending,” Paul, who is also a licensed physician, told Neil Cavuto on Fox News. “This bill is completely irresponsible.”

Paul also took aim at former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, a vocal proponent of the bill who last month took to Capitol Hill to testify in favor of the measure alongside retired NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez.

Alvarez, 53, died of complications from 9/11-related cancer weeks after the stirring testimony and is one of three fallen FDNY and NYPD heroes whose names now grace the reauthorization bill.

“Jon Stewart doesn’t care about the truth,” Paul said. “It’s ‘me, me, me.’ ”

Lee also stood by his pitch for a shorter-term deal.

“I filed an amendment last night funding the program at $10.18 billion over 10 years, the exact same amount the Congressional Budget Office estimated the program will need,” Lee said.

But Paul and Lee both acknowledged that their proposed amendments would almost certainly fail a Senate vote and indicated they would stand aside to allow the bill’s passage after their effectively symbolic objections.

The Senate is expected to vote on both amendments as well as the bill itself on Tuesday.

Feal said the holdouts’ claims to be responsible fiscal watchdogs don’t fly because they voted for a $1.5 trillion tax cut in 2017 that has caused the deficit to balloon.

“Not only are they hypocrites, they’re bottom feeders and opportunists,” he told CNN.