Interview - The 25-Year Fight For 9/11 Responders

0:00Welcome to this edition of the Moan News podcast, part of our special coverage of the 25th anniversary of the attacks on September 11th. In addition to the nearly 3,000 people who were killed that day, there are thousands of first responders from firefighters to construction workers who have died from illnesses linked to the September 11th attacks and the toxic dust at ground zero, and thousands more who are sick, fighting to make sure that those first responders get health care and compensation is John Feele, founder of the Feel Good Foundation, which advocates for first responders. John led the campaign, pressuring lawmakers to pass and renew the Zedroga 9-11 Health and Compensation Act in 2010 signed by President Obama. That is landmark legislation providing health monitoring, compensation and benefits to first responders, volunteers and survivors. Feel is also the author of a new memoir. I will follow you anywhere. The true story of the 9-11

1:02responders who took on Congress, the forward was written by John Stewart. John Feele, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me, Jill. I think we've known each other maybe close to 20 years and you have been aged, so God bless you. Either have you, John. Thank you for that. I'm about 184 now. So I have interviewed you countless times years ago when I was a reporter for a local TV station in New York, and I think it was during that time period when you were traveling back and forth from Long Island to Washington DC and you were really pushing for the Zedroga Act. It passed and all of these years later you were still at it. Yeah, I don't know if to take that as a compliment or something's wrong with our system because you know in 2010 after six years or going back and forth to DC, we got the James and Georgia Health and Compensation Act. It was a five-year

2:03bill for health care and compensation. 2015 we did it again and it was extended to 2090 on the health care side. The compensation was only extended to 2020, but we didn't wait. We did it in 2019. Then John Stuart and I went back to DC and in 2021 and 22 we did the burn pits for better. But since then we were fighting to get the World Trade Senate Health Program fully funded for a mistake that was made in 2015 because of medical inflation. We just got that done this year in April and we got attached to the Homeland Security Bill. In between then, we've helped pass bills and Albany, New Jersey and Michigan and we're now 20 to 20 and getting legislation passed. So I want to get into all of that but I do want to go back a little because for people who are not familiar with your story, you were a demolition supervisor at Ground Zero in the days after September 11. So can you just take us back to that time? How long were you at Ground Zero? What were you doing

3:05there? And also what was it like down there? For many of us, we've really just seen pictures and videos. To start off, it was the most real thing I've ever seen or done. I was in awe of the carnage and destruction and the devastation that I witnessed. And when I got out of the hospital after 11 weeks, so I did therapy for two and a half years to clear my mind with that. But if I shut my eyes and close my eyes, the smell, I will never get rid of and that will want me for the rest of my life. And I wish I could paint the landscape and tell you what that smell was like but it is the most important devastating thing that affects me on the daily basis. My injury is the pails and comparison to the usually sick and dying, for those who have died from an 9-11 illness. And while it was gruesome and horrific, my story is so small and so my new

4:07compared to these men and women who suffer on a daily basis. Roughly 8,000 pounds of CO-Carshmine left foot, I spent 11 weeks in the hospital, gangrene, and I was died. But I'm here today advocating for 20 plus years now and giving a chance to make a difference. So you got this injury, a beam fell on your foot and I was listening to an interview that you did. You said at the time, I guess your body was in such shock that you were just like, oh, I'll be right back. You know, and you don't get a band-aid. I don't want to make light of it because, you know, I was 120 over 80, like nothing happened. They called the co-hearing shock. But as soon as everybody came over, blood was shooting out of my blood, I don't know, three or four different directions, 60. And I made it turn and get below my knee. I got my brutal, but I couldn't get my sock off because the bones just take it to it. And I was showing that everybody get back to work. I'll be back in a couple hours. And, you know, I was like, yeah, I got this. And I didn't realize the significance of that injury.

5:11And just to be clear, you were part of a crew. What were you sifting through the rubble looking for remains? What exactly were you doing down there? Yeah, you know, I want to be clear, the non-uniform work of the union, the electricians are called into the plumbers, the iron work, is the demolition work, is the laborers. That army of non-uniform work is outnumbered the uniform work is four or five to one. And while coughs in, firefighters, the heroes, no matter what, they became iconic on 9-11 and after. And rightfully so, but all of those non-uniform people, they deserve as much credit because they still be cleaning up ground zero today if that army of blue collar workers didn't come in and help and do God's work. I was hired to take orders from the top and delegated to the bottom on the ground. I wasn't supposed to get dirty. I wasn't supposed to work, but I can do not watching everybody else. And when I first got down there the

6:12night of 11 to morning of the 12th, I worked five and a half days before my injury. I would have been there pretty wholly monk cleanup. You know, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I'm never going to feel sorry for myself. But it's taking us whole. I've had a few dozen surgeries, most of them from 9-11. And you know, just two years ago, I had a double hip replacement just because of my bad hood led to another bad fruit, which messed up my gate, which led to 9-E surgeries, which led to two bad hips. And walking the laws of Congress, those mobile floors, you would know Jill, they're not forgiven. So as you're in the hospital though, with this injury and you're so sick, when do you realize that you're not going to be compensated? I'm sure you were thinking at some point the bills are piling up. So why weren't your injuries covered? Well, I didn't get the Perth's Victims Compensation Fund because I got hurt at 124 hours. After 96 hours,

7:17they didn't deem it a terrorist attack site anymore. And while I was devastating at the time, I kept the roof on my head and sold off everything I owned. And it took me years to know that those are just materialistic things that I don't even have anymore today. And I had to fight good work with comp, I had to get fight to get so scared of disability. And it didn't make sense because everybody who got sick had a proof, they got sick. I had nothing to prove. I had a documented injury and head for my foot was in a jaw. Why would I have to go through that? And for about three years, four years, I went through that fighting the system. I'm not going to say I beat this system, but I learned that and navigated. I know the ins and outs, I know the laws, I know the rules, and I started going to school groups that threw my own therapy and I met people way worse off than me. And I don't want to cliché this. But this always somebody worse off than you. And everybody goes through something. And I became that guy that could help. And next thing you know what I started a foundation and I came and take credit for name in it.

8:20It's the feel good foundation. Who named it? So when I was feeling at the pay for work, I filled out everything except for the title. And when I went to submit it, the beautiful tiny little five foot 75-year-old black one, but baby, you got to fill this out. And I go, well, you know, I can't think of a title because everybody has a 9-11 in the title at that time, a 9-11 organization. Everybody thinks it's the worst. And I wanted to be about solutions and problem-solving. And she goes, sugar, what's your last name? And I said, it's feel. She was on the year to feel good foundation. And I go, okay, I eat, but can I spell it at the A.L.? She goes, sugar, you're the boss. You do whatever you want. And that's how it started. So the feel good foundation was born. And through that, the ideas just that you help responders who are struggling, navigating the system? Yeah, first responders, responders, volunteers, you know, and we were donating

9:24financial assistance as well. You know, we haven't donated as much over the last few years because people are getting compensated and other organizations we can't compete with, no longer we want to. And we really focused on the advocacy and the legislation because that's, you know, you can't spend money without health. And if I could donate to one person to give them a thousand dollars or I can get a bill pass that helps 10,000 people or 100,000 people, I'm going to take the, you know, health to masses. So fast forward a little bit. These are Droga acts. That was the landmark legislation. How did the idea for that come? Because there was already the 9-11, there was something in place from the government to help responders. So what was these Droga acts? How is that different? Up until 2010 from like 2003 to we were getting federal funding for places like Sony, Brooklyn, Mountstein, I, Robert Wood Johnson to monitor those affected by

10:289-11. And it wasn't until the James Hedred Grove Health and Compensation Act directly funded these programs when not only did they monitor us, they treated us. And instead of giving us an aspirin and smacking us on the butt and saying I've seen a couple months, they actually were doing full physicals and paid for surgeries and sending prescriptions in the mail. And this is now a well-wale machine that continues to be attacked by Washington DC. So how many times were you and your team in Washington DC to get these Droga act passed? Who was with you? How did it work? So in the beginning, we were like a little engine that could. They said we got lucky when we got the bill passed. But now we're that big engine that did because we've done it so many times. In the beginning, we dried down the intake buses and we learned as we went. But now when we go we're a well-wale machine, team leaders, 18B team, seed team, do Intel on each member of Congress in

11:35the Senate. Advocacy or activism, whatever you want to see it, is a natural right for Americans to challenge authority when you know something's wrong. When we first started walking the walls of Congress, they told us we were crazy, we were making it up. And then when we gave science caught up to us, it gave us validity, like we were smart. Then they said it's a New York problem and then we showed them 434 out of 435 congressional districts who represented at grounds here during the eight month cleanup. But then they said, well, how are you going to pay for it? And they kept moving the goal line and they were like, dude, you'll always made out of mobile. Don't tell me where you're going to get the money. Don't insult tolerance intelligence. Every time there was an obstacle I heard it, we had to go around there to run through it or over it. Now we just go through it. We have zero tolerance. And you know, is the problem, Jill, over the last 20 plus years? The Senate has six years. They think they're going to out last year. They think, you know, they have six years, you're going to go away.

12:38We showed them endurance and longevity. I could snap my finger right now in the Avengers assemble. You know, we're ready to go to DC. But members in Congress is eternal, but every two years. So not only did we have to lobby the bill, we had to reeducate them in this staff on the importance of why this ledges and what happened on 9-11 in the aftermath in the toxins. So it's challenging. When you say A team, B team, C team, walk me through that. What do you mean? And how did you even come up with this? Because I imagine that prior to 9-11 and prior to trying to get this bill passed, you had not really been in the halls of Congress trying to do something like this before. No. So now, like if I was to go to DC in two weeks from now, we would send them emails and request a meeting. 90% of them give us that meeting anyway because they know who we are. In the beginning, we did that. You know, it was

13:4050% or 40%. But my 18 is my best though the best and they would take the hardest meetings. My B team would take people that are on the fence. My C team would take the fluff meetings and take pictures with the members of Congress in the Senate and tell them to get their colleagues to do it. And then those 18 B team and C team, you know, we were doing 15, 20, 30, 40 meetings a day. And I think we did the record is 55 meetings in one day and these things are contentious meetings and heated, but it's also repetitious. And then you got to get up and go and go to the next one. And I would keep each team in a building, whether it's in the Senate, they have three houses or the Congress who has three houses. And it would make us a little bigger than what we really were. And you know, in the beginning from 2005 to 2010, I was taking two, 300 people. Who are these people? Are these other responders? All of our private construction workers, survivors of those who lived or worked on what the school

14:40and low men had. But then in 2015, 2019, 2022, 2026, there was a team of 30 or 40. And my core group of 12 to 15 that have always stayed by my side. And we were just so organized. And until when we knew we were going to have a meeting at 1115, the Congress and so on. So we know how they voted. We know where they were born. We know their mother's maiden name. We did our investigation on them because they were investigating us. What is happening in these meetings behind closed doors? If you could just paint a picture for us because we're never in those meetings. We only know what happens in them at press conferences. And if a bill passes or if it doesn't pass. Well, I'll give you the example. And I don't know how saucy I can get with my language. But in 2015, I had a meeting with Mitch McConnell. And I took two of my guys and we got escorted to his office. Well, I told guards what they offered teams like we were terrorists. Mitch McConnell

15:45walked in there. He goes, I bet you feel good about beating me up in the media. I said, sir, you're a cell and so I'll sit down. And within two minutes of that meeting, a girl came in with a blank piece of paper and said, oh, I got to go. And then my Tourette syndrome kicked in and I let them have it. Would that be as said, it wasn't a good meeting. But a lot of meetings were either with cheaper staffs, the members themselves or their LG's, the legislative directors. And they could get heated. And I would have one guy dictated me to I'd have one guy take notes and I have one guy tell their personal story, well, woman. And this was repetitious. And then they would rotate that out. 2019, I had a meeting with Mitch McConnell. That's when John Stuart testified in front of Congress. And my plan was for John to testify then get that meeting with Mitch McConnell. And the guards were watching over us because John testified I had a meeting with Mitch McConnell. I handed him Lou Alvarez a shield. And I made Mitch McConnell cry. And as soon as we left that meeting,

16:52I turned to my team and I bought six guys with me. And I said, I just made Doc Veda cry. And it was the most amazing feeling in the world to see that everything I thought about him, there was a human being underneath that. Lou Alvarez for people who are not familiar is a first responder who has sadly passed away from cancer. Correct? Lou passed away 18 days after testifying the front of Congress with John Stuart. So talk to me about your friendship with John Stuart. How did that come to be? How did you guys even meet each other? I don't even like the guy. Okay, one is the smartest man I ever met. I've never met anybody with a more brilliant mind than John Stuart. He's a verbal assassin. And he's gifted he's a surgeon. He's an assassin. In 2010, he asked me to come on his show. And I said, no, if I ever write a book, I'll come on your show. And Gary, I'm running a book. I'm not on his show yet.

17:55I said, we're in DC. We have two days to get the bill passed. If we don't, we have to start all over and I'm going to get this done. And he said, well, I like that. Give me four guys. I'll put them on the show tonight. You do what you got to do. And I'll do what I have to do with touch base. I gave him four guys for the show that night. And he dedicated the whole show to them. We were getting a bill passed with the without John Stuart, but it helped. And it made my work easier. Our work easier. And we became friends after that. And John joined me in DC in 2015. That's when he left the daily show. And he got embedded in the team. And you know, every one of my team members have a nickname. Everyone, you know, Taco Berry, lush, mellow, everybody had a nickname and John wanted a nickname. And all day he was passing me, we're going from eating to meeting. He's like, dude, give me a nickname. I said, you don't see it. I'm not giving you a nickname. So by the end of the day, he was just getting under my skin. And he's like, give me a nickname. I said, right, your nickname is called bear. And then he kept me. That's right.

19:00Now when he gets under my skin, I call him cove. But you know, John testified in 2019 in front of Congress. And what a lot of people don't know. And it's in the book. A week before John testified, he wrote a speech and he calls me up and he's reading it to me. And I said, that's that's what you're using words I never heard of. That will never enter my vocabulary. And I said, why would you write a speech when you're the best sit down comedian, Evan, you can articulate anything. And his first words, I don't want to fuck this up for the guys. Excuse my language. And that's his exact words. And I said, John, they love you. You're never going to screw this up again. He said, yeah, I just want to get it right. I don't want to, you know, and I was like, all right. But the whole week he was texting me, calling me email and he said, what do you think about this? I go, whatever, John, do whatever you got. Then I was like, I want John Stuart, I want John Stuart, that I know. So did they need to he testified, Ray Fyfer, who John

20:03gave his ulygy when he passed away from 9-11 cancer? Ray Fyfer, just for our audience, you may not be familiar. He was one of the first fire chiefs he rushed to ground zero. He was actually off duty, right? When the when the attack happened. Correct. And just so your viewers know, Ray had cancer in his bones and his bones broke. And we had to put him in a wheelchair. They put metal rods in his legs. And then the metal rod broke and he could not keep up with us. So we got him a scooter and he became the face of the movement in 2015. So the day before John testified, they had a golf outing for right. And from DC, I outbid everybody for raised pumpkin here. It's fire coat. And I paid $7,000 for that coat. And then I paid $1,000 for somebody to drive it to DC. And then I had all 40 something on my guy, sewing raised coat and give it to John. And my guys were waiting inside the always the Congress to give John that coat and I waited for

21:09John outside. And I handed John a letter and he opened it. And I said, dear John, this is my first dear John letter that I've ever written on a 53 years on this planet. And it all that said was, I miss and I love my mother daily. I miss and I love Ray daily. Don't ever make me miss you because I love you daily. And then we had a good cry. And then I was like, I'm getting the John's to what I want. I don't want him reading from that speech. So when we went inside, my guys were waiting with that coat and they presented that coat, which is now on display at the 9-11 Museum this year for the first time. John has given that code for three years to the museum. With that being said, they should question us all up in the room. And John was going over his notes. I said, put that away. I said, you have six people that are going to testify before you. They're all going to read from a piece of paper. They're going to mess it up. They're going to start. They're going to look down, look up, lose their spot. Don't be like them. Be the leader that we want you to be. Because again, I'm thinking about it. So when we went in there, everybody was

22:14testifying and I was egging John on and getting him irate and furious because John didn't realize it was a subcommittee of a committee. And not every member of Congress is there. And people were coming in and mocking that they were there and then leave. And I said, John, look at that. All of these sick men and women behind you and these people just come and go. John's getting fired up. So when Lou Alvarez testified, we helped write Lou's speech. You're not supposed to make noise in the hearing room. Like Congress has decorum and everything. So as soon as Lou was done giving his powerful speech, I stood up and I saw the clapping. gave him the same information. Then everybody in the room, even members of Congress got up and clapped. And then I just leaned over to John and said, follow that bitch. And as soon as the noise quiet down, everybody sat down. John, you know, if you ever watch a deli show when he taps the desk with a pen, he tapped the desk with his pen and he gave a

23:23eight and a half, nine minute oral ass whooping to Congress. He articulated our pain to the American people and he chastised the body of work without ever using that speech. And I think that's my proudest moment that I've ever done because I got under the skin and in the psyche of a man who's a hundred times smarter than me. I want to play some of that speech now. Because that was really one of the pivotal moments in getting a lot of this legislation to the finish line because it got a ton of attention. I remember just how raw and emotional he was. So take a listen. And I'm sorry if I sound angry and undiplomatic. But I'm angry and you should be two and they're all angry as well. And they have every justification to be that way. There is not a person here. There is not an empty chair on that stage

24:26that didn't tweet out. Never forget the heroes of 9-11. Never forget their bravery. Never forget what they did, what they gave to this country. Well, here they are. And where are they? And it would be one thing if their callous indifference and rank hypocrisy were benign but it's not. Your indifference costs these men and women their most valuable commodity. Time. So that was in 2019. Walk us through what happened after that speech. Everybody went home except for me and three of my guys. We went to Albany. You got three bills passed the next day. True story. And here's a little funny side. Everybody went home. We went to Albany. We got three bills passed at the state level for those affected by 9-11. And on a way home,

25:30a former NYPD and now victims compensation attorney was driving. He was doing 100 miles an hour on the Tecanis. And their driver seat was a retired warden from corrections and sitting in the back seat was a retired lieutenant at the NY. When we got pulled over, the driver, the former NYPD said sorry pulling out of the hole. Here's my credentials and the state troop of didn't care. Then the water said hey, I'm a retired warden. And the car said, then the guy in the back seat rolls the window down to go, say I'm retired lieutenant from the FBM. What? Me just sitting there being quiet in the passenger seat of the back seat. The cop, the state troop of goes, and what do you have? I go sir, nothing. I'm just John. He was John. Feel. Thank you. I'm in the program. You say my life. Wow. So the whole right home, I let those three have it. So what is the program? Walk us through what exactly what it is. The James Drogue Health and

26:35Compensation Act is one half healthcare and one half compensation. If you were affected by the aftermath of 9-11 enrollment, hadn't you panthegon a shanksville and you meet the criteria, you will get free healthcare for the rest of your life. And then you have two years and nobody waits two years. They do it right away to file a claim to get compensated for your illness. And right now, there's a little over 155,000 people in the World Trade Center program. Sadly, it's 57,000 plus people would have certified 9-11 related cancer. One in three have cancer. Roughly 9,295 people have passed away from a 9-11 related illness. And that triples the amount of those who died on that horrific Tuesday morning. But I'll find a positive in that while we're getting decimated with cancer, we have a highest survival rate in the 9-11 community against cancer than the general population. Because we have early screening protection. We have physicals all the

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29:46percent off and one free breakfast item per box for one year while supplies last until 10 31 20 26. So that is code MoNus 50 off at factor meals.com see the website for more details. So we just reported here on the podcast about the number of first responders and people who lived and worked near ground zero who have developed as you're talking about these cancers related to 9-11 particularly rare cancers. So is that what you're seeing all of these years later? Yeah, you know when we got the bill passed in 2010 and signed into law January 3rd, 2011, there was no cancer in the bill. It was all respiratory and now we have 69 cancers covered under the bill. Basically every cancer is covered under the bill and we are now fighting to get other illnesses added like heart, cognitive diseases and autoimmune and while autoimmune is broad the top four or five like we were taught arthritis and the robbery and other things are relevant and rampant in the 9-11

30:52community as is hot as is cognitive disease because now we're seeing a spike in dimensions and Alzheimer's and stuff like that. So where every days are fight not only do we have to protect the bill you know the bill is only 16 years old it's it's mature and where it's surrogate where and we have to get these illnesses added and sadly it takes a couple of years to get these illnesses added because congresses don't move the charges we go. No congress that's very polite John actually in terms of how you discussed this. Well I'm trying not to curse I already got one on me. So I want to talk about your book I'll follow you anywhere. The title is actually something that John Stewart had said about you right? Yeah in 2019 when we got the bill passed we did a victory press conference and the two senators from the Yorks spoke and then I spoke and then John followed me and when John was speaking he turned to me and said I'll he said I'll follow you anywhere and two

31:57years later we went on to do the burn pits for veterans and got a 300 billion dollar healthcare bill passed on them. You know he is many celebrities have tried to work with us wanted to work with us reached out to us but nobody ever got embedded with us and rolled his sleeves up and he did this without the fan pay he didn't want attention he just cared and John notes the first name in the story is a very buddy that was on my team if he doesn't see them for three years he still knows who they are he acts is about them and I never seen him more giving care in person besides myself than him and I don't have a lot of role models in my life for a lot of heroes but he's on my Mount Rushmore and what he's done is truly humble about. So the book talks about your unconventional approach to getting legislation passed and it does feel like particularly now nothing gets done in Congress so what is your advice to people who perhaps have their own causes that they are

33:02advocating for? by a treadmill show them endurance and longevity don't go there once every three months go there three times a month four times a month don't take no for an answer when human life is at stake challenging humanity and barrison in public on the internet and put your foot on the neck and don't give up and keep fighting what we create I'm never going to apologize to any member of Congress of the Senate and I got a lot of friends in the Congress in the Senate or so it but I'm never going to apologize because humanity humanity was at stake and usually these should never none of these pieces of legislation should ever be in political I used to think it was ideologies but it's ideologies it's ignorance it's people who go into serve Congress in the Senate for the wrong reason and they your first priorities to serve in fact you can stand

34:06joint to many failed at that and they shouldn't be in the office and again there's such a high turnover in Congress and if they don't know is they know us really quick when we meet with them and we showed them that we're a formidable opponent we used to be the little engine that could and that would a big engine that did and you know the book is not a memoir it's a story about 12 to 13 people what they did in DC and what they did at ground zero how they got sick and how they joined me like Louis Alvarez a Ray Fife and the handful of others that have died fighting for the masses and this book is for them the the book is my way of saying thank you because it wasn't just John Stuart and John Field it was it took a village it took a village Ray Fife Louis Alvarez Matt McCulley Michael O'Connell Rich Palmer Gil-Rizzo Yvonne Sanchez it took all of these people to get these pieces of legislation that's I wanted America to know about that personally the book is everybody was writing books John wrote a book Senator Gillibrand wrote a book doctor loved

35:10from Sony wrote a book so maybe now it's on a wrote a book and there was a chapter on me in those books and I was like everybody's telling my story but me and I wanted this story to be accurate and raw and truthful and honest and I haven't been home in 25 years and this this hmm this book is getting me there just cathartic to write it I would imagine yeah it was a rough two years but it was cleansing and and now you know you know Jill every time we got a piece of legislation that every time we get to the parking lot everybody go to the call and we would have a last team auto meeting and I would say the same thing every time I said what you guys done is this story nobody could take this away from me what you have done one percent of one percent of one percent will never do and I'm asking you all today to put down your sword you no longer worry go home pick up your

36:14rates and plan something and watch it grow with your loved ones become fond of I will call you back maybe not tomorrow only here but I'll call you back and everybody went home until I needed them again and kid is there I didn't take my own advice and I never put down my sword well I'm glad you wrote the book because there's it's it's a fascinating look at a story that a lot of people may not be familiar with you know it is part of the 9-11 story that made that doesn't always get told but here's the thing at the end of each chapter um we give you the blueprint and the and the the foundation on how to get legislation passed at the state local federal level if I could do it anybody could do it and uh I hope you could do it so the book will make you laugh book will make you cry the book will make you get mad but it's also a tool to use for you to get

37:14engaged and if somebody calls me in three months and now it says hey I got a bill in Seattle and I'm trying to do this using my blueprint it will work so in the 25 years which is incredible that you've been at this it feels like Congress has gotten more dysfunctional and more partisan do you see that do you see a difference in Washington DC uh when you walk the halls and talk to lawmakers there's no more governing there's no more legislating uh it's who can go to twitter to confess his acts whatever and tweet something snorkey or bitchy or um complain and you know how many hits in life they can get um Congress has lost its way it's failed you know take 9-11 out of the equation I'm an American Congress has lost its way and it's failed the American people we we we fight to the nail all the social issues that I've nothing to do about putting fruit on

38:21the table keeping the utilities on and making sure people have medication and um shame on Congress or failing the American people shame on Congress failing the 9-11 community because first responders responders we volunteers those who live the work that went to school and lowman hand those who are at the pentagon those who are a chancel they deserve better and the American people right now deserve better this country's on fire 9-11 is coming up it's not an anniversary it's not the 25 year anniversary it's the 25 year remembered and I pray everybody takes a minute of their time to stop and reflect to the innocent advisory laws on 9-11 to the heroes who ran into arms waited we never went home and to those who went down then worked for days weeks and months and got sick and have died or are still suffering I hope we all just take it second to put away our ideologies and our differences and our religions and our political beliefs and just stop and become a human being again you know people gave up on empathy people gave up on

39:24humanity and um you know three days ago I I celebrated the 19 year anniversary of I donated a kidney to a stranger and I'm never ever going to conform to society and I'm never going to lose my empathy my humanity all my sense of humor because that's what keeps me going so in the book I noticed that a lot of prominent people were praising the work that you did including Nancy Pelosi and I did hear in an interview that you did where you talked about now you have this great relationship with her but it didn't start out that way could you just tell us about it yeah in 2010 I put my feet on a desk at a seven minute meeting when she said young man take your feet off my desk I said no this is what's going to happen I'm going to have your phones blown up this is really before the internet took off I'm going to have your phones blown up and you're going to cave and you're going to call Carol Mulan she's like no not following day she did and this is because you were at this point you're pushing for for the originals to drogue out

40:27yeah and she was the speaker at this point yes man okay and so she's saying to you what she she was purposely holding the bill up trying to get a better deal from Republicans and I understand she had a job to do but we needed a piece of legislation we were running out of time and we didn't we didn't see eye to eye and I made her life miserable for a few weeks and I did apologize to her but she called me the toughest son of a bitch she's ever seen in 40 years on the hill so you know Joe Biden called me savage I'm glad you're on the side and you know I'll give you an example mean Dan Crenshaw it didn't get along and then when I met with Dan and we sat down for a couple hours we spoke every Friday night for close to a year and I became his life coach and we didn't have a lot in common but by the time we were done we had a lot in common more than we thought we did and I'll be friends with anybody on either side of the aisle I my will my will

41:35and human life is stronger than anybody's political beliefs or religious item I don't buy into that stuff I'm an independent liberal Republican conservative Democrat I don't see black, white, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic I see human beings and I don't title any the problem is we give each other titles nobody wants to have a difficult conversation anymore and I'm all over to the difficult conversations that's how you burn weight by the way Dan Crenshaw is he is no longer in Congress right but he was representing Texas a former Navy SEAL Republican correct so John you have met so many of these lawmakers that many of us just we read their press releases or they represent obviously a lot of Americans but they have had a real impact on your life not only friendships but really taught you how to get things done in Washington so so who in particular has made a difference for you and who did you really learn the most from yeah you know great question

42:39Joe you know first person that ever asked me this question you know I'm raised by my mother who was my mother my father my best friend and she passed away in 2006 and my injury at ground zero will never define me what I do for the last 25 years will never define me my mother's final words on how that like the fine but my mother's surrogates when my three-year-old is sisters and I was raised by women and no male has played a prominent role in my life other than John Stuart and I look at him as an older brother or a dear close friend but people like Nancy Pelosi who taught me how to count this 435 members of congress is 100 senators and you need so many votes to get get legislation and she taught me the ins and outs of Washington she and listen we are totally opposite

43:46I'm not talking about it in our politics but the way we live our lives and Senator Gillibrand who can drink me under the table and I'm going record saying that and she could throw more half bombs than me in 10 seconds but she told me what it's like to work across the aisle she taught me what is so many differences in work with others and she taught me what tenacity is and no man in congress or the senate took their time to to nurture me to make me deleted that I am and you know I think it paid off because in 2019 when John test was when we got the BCF extended we knew we were running out of money in 2018 and I took a small team in October of 2018 we wanted a radar no media knew but we were getting support because Senator Gillibrand introduced to Bill in February of that in 2019 and they asked for my number one team leader at the time

44:46I said rich I asked the guys if they're going to come back and I think it happened I'm going to say no because I'm a hot ass and I'm painting the butt and everybody got the DCF awards they were all millionaires I think if somebody would say no and when rich ex and they would go back to DC every one of them everyone in them said yes and to me that's like the greatest compliment that I can get because they all took their own pain and suffering and fought for the masses and I think it's because of Gillibrand and Pelosi and a handful of other women that understood my drive and you know I don't cry from physical pain I had he doesn't find some seal christmas look I take my surgery straight now because I'm allergic to pain killers

45:47oh my god most of them will kill me I broke my hand as a my shoulder my elbow in three places as a kid my hand touched my shoulder backwards and I was trying to put it back in place I don't cry physically but I cry emotionally and I cry more pain from emotions than physical and I think those women made it okay to show others that I do cry and I believe by showing others that you're vulnerable and flawed and exposed it allows other people who are vulnerable flawed and exposed to open up and then you can collaborate and move forward together and work on pieces of legislation and I don't care what your political affiliation is if you can harness with somebody who's been doing it way longer than you if you can harness their skills and make yours better then then you got

46:48lucky so as we approach this 25th anniversary or commemoration or however you want to do describe it it's it's incredible that it's been 25 years and there is a generation of people who were not born yet who maybe only learned about this in school what is your message to them what would you want them to take away from this interview good question and my generation I'm 59 we um way quick to say that kids that are 18 21 28 lazy and they don't get it they get it internet your friend if you use it right um I speak at a lot of schools job colleges high schools and when I when I when I can't accommodate I send my surrogates and these kids get it and um they have more empathy more compassion and more love than my generation and um we don't give them

47:52enough credit and these kids are amazing but I also let them know that 9-11 will happen again it will be 8-17 or 3-22 or 6-11 whatever the case may think make sure that our government does the right thing because we have a way a history of repeating on the state and as an American citizen you have the right to challenge our government and you got a right to challenge the humanity and anybody at the state local federal level has that right to go there you know a lot of people call me well my member of congress won't answer my call they don't reply to my emails well then get off your butt go knock on the door and don't go away that's how you do it don't take no for an answer if you're passionate about something and you believe in something put on blind is don't get distracted by shiny objects keep your head down stay focused and people will follow you John still would follow me and I got lucky was there a time in this very very long

48:59you know what I'm gonna say so you never lost hope you never thought oh my god if I haven't thought like we weren't gonna get a bill pass um I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing every time you know in 2010 DC was a ghost town they had the bill dead on arrival we were at 508 coastlines we needed 60 and um before I stepped foot in DC I took 12 people uh my 12 guys I had enough bail money and I was quoted in the daily news they're saying I'll do whatever it takes to get this bill passed I'll park a bus in front of the airport I believe in civil disobedience then my next quote was send an Assuming needs to slap a bib on republican leadership and force feed them the bill we went to DC that morning uh I sent my guys over to shoot me's office because they wanted to yell at me but I had to go to Carol Maloney who's the original author on the congress woman who's the original author is a jogger bill and um when I got there capital police were waiting for me and they put me against the wall they first me Carol Maloney came out of her office oh my god

50:04John feel you're the only one here the unions gave blah blah you're gonna say today and I said I need a little statement right now um capital police five minutes later we were changing patches and challenged coins and taking selfies um they escorting me over to shoot me's office and my guys and when I say my guys they are in the end of those at best they are dogs they are true New Yorkans and um it will hold my hands in a press circle and as I got closer I heard this the slink the voice going on praying for the 9-11 community and praying for the field good foundation there was a Reverend Jesse Jackson and I walked right by the chicken my head like this day can't get any and um when I went into Senator Schum was office um I echoed the hard building with a lot of explosives a lot of f words back and forth with the senator and uh I let them know that I was his last hope and we were in the 11th hour and I was gonna do things my way and then um when I walked Jesse Jackson out of face like this and I said Rev I'm not really a religious man but if you could

51:08tell me one of those will be good and uh Senator Collins called the capital police on this and then they denied it then the daily news confronted him and then they admitted it and I took it as a badge of honor like hey I'm shutting down DC we went into a meeting with Senator Collins chief of staff and their way of saying sorry was hey if the bill went on the floor today the bill would pass that means we got 59 so when I called Senator Gillibrand and said hey we just got count she's on the 59 they were like no you didn't I said yes we did then they confirmed it and they were on the 59 and like well you need one more I said I know how to do ma'am I'm not that dumb and then an hour later um there was a security breach in the building and we got stuck in Harry Reid's office me and my whole team and um CNN Fox everybody's calling me what'd you guys do and I was like nothing and you know they eventually unlocked the doors and we can go back to our meetings and uh we went to Senator Mrakowski's office whose chief of staff Nathan was from

52:11New York and we tugged at his harsh strings he boarded his boss in and we told her the importance of how important she would be at number 60 and uh she signed on um when I called Gillibrand's office to tell Schumer's office they're like no you didn't they had a cold-merged Kowski's office to confirm it and we had 60 now my guys aren't as adept at me because I knew the ins announced at DC and I haven't had I made potatoes mean potatoes and the sausage I might send them back to the hotel because I had three buses coming down the next morning Schumer asked me to be parted in negotiation with uh Republican leadership and Schumer was going back and forth I sat in the room with some staffers and some union people who I didn't know and Schumer negotiated and they would come in and say we could do this we could do that and he said well we're not going to get this say well how much money are we going to get Chuck and it's has 4.7 1.5 for the healthcare uh 3.2 puts I said yeah we'll take it and everybody's like what do you mean I said we're going back to New York tomorrow with something if we don't take this we get nothing

53:14so then he said all right let me figure out the year it comes back well we can't get 7 but we'll take we can get 6 years and he's going back and forth back and forth and everybody's like yeah we'll take 6 years I said no we're not taking 6 years we'll take 5 years and I'm like what do you mean I said presidential election do the math oh you're right oh good it goes feel you got mox and go sorry I don't know what that means I just want to go home it's going to clock in the morning or I was late I was doing the whole TV circuit gamut you know all the talk shows in the morning and we got a bill pass with those three buses came down and I let them run a muck through the walls of Congress singing Christmas carols and um to see everybody hug cry I just sat there like I'm talking to you like okay we got it done we're going to come back in five years you know and we didn't come back in five years we went back a year later and we did the entire ability bill which was the last recommendation on the 9-11 commission on page 397 of the 9-11

54:15commission because the radios failed on 9-11 Senate or Rockefeller from West Virginia X Schumer if I would come back and give them the old New Yorker and we went back there we went back about eight times for that and now God forbid there's another terrorist attack man made a disaster mother nature national law enforcement of fight fright is our on the same frequency and 18t has a conglomerate on it and um you know we got that done so kudos to my guys you know one of the things that struck me as you're talking and you're saying you know you're for counting votes which is the practicality of this but you're also saying you're not going to what is the expression don't let the perfect get in the way of the good you're taking something you're not trying to get everything all at once so is that part of the lesson here also yeah I mean I learned that we're never going to get everything we want but we're going to negotiate and get the best that we can uh we can get and um there's always a compromise and in the perfect world they would

55:20have passed this bill in 2001 or two and we would have saved a lot of lives we would add a health care system set up for these men and women and there would have been billions of dollars to compensate them and we failed I failed you know I built a park among island you know about it it's called the 9-11 response is remembered park in this concept and um this year on Saturday the 12th we're writing 345 names but that park is my baby I don't have kids that's something tangible that I get to leave behind and I got one acre of land donated per dollar and I built a million dollar for but the park's also reminded that I failed because my job is get people into the program get them through the program get them the health care that they need to get compensated and not everybody lives after that in some die and I feel like I failed them and the park was built knowing that I failed and if I failed everybody because I'm at this 24-7 and I what I learned the most over the last 25 years is there's advocacy

56:25and there's activism and advocacy is once a weekend or three hours a night or twice a month activism 24-7 you miss important days in life you miss weddings you miss anniversaries you miss parties all because you're trying to do what is righteous I'm married to this cause and I'm never getting divorced and not to state the obvious but the cause here are all of these people who whether they were working or volunteering who went to ground zero and were told the air is clean that it's fine you can breathe it in and who wound up getting sick and I and I also know that this has been expanded to people who just live down there also yeah um you know the true spirit of the human being is to give up yourself but if we got on this podcast today and you were in a good move I'm in a good mood if you were sad I would pick it up and I would ask you if you were okay

57:27and it's on a larger scale I went through so much pain and suffering for three and a half four years I still suffer I learned to self heal I learned that it's okay to know that post-traumatic and I was diagnosed by four of doctors with it that you've been through something you came out the other side and if you fight it it's gonna swallow you but if you embrace it you can use it as a gift and you can use it as a superpower and I have this uncanny gift to feel other people's pain and suffering because I suffered before everybody got sick and suffered I don't want anybody to go through with I didn't have John feel they helped John feel when John feel needed John feel right and I had to learn the hard way and I don't want anybody to go through that ever ever and John we are approaching this 25th anniversary where are you going to be on 9-11 yeah you know one

58:29the day of remembrance whether it's 25 or 19 or I actually one day at a year I don't advocate so one day I put down my sword and remember those that we lost to census violence and those that we continue to lose in this year the 9-11 memorial is adding a seventh toll every year they do six tolls at about at different times for when the towers were hit when they came down antagonizing so and this year they had a seventh toll and it will roughly go up around 1230 and that seventh toll at a bell is for those who went to ground zero or the pentagon the shins so and it's for those who got sick and died or sick and dying and it represents the past president of future and it gives validity to the 9-11 community who will attend and say you're recognized you're recognized for what you have done you're recognized for what you have suffered

59:32you're recognized for being an amazing fucking American and we thank you and I want to be there for that because there's going to be a lot of hugging in kids in that day you know I don't see a lot of people until that day a lot of them fly in from different parts of the country and we made a pack long time ago we don't say goodbye anymore we say I love you because it could be the last time you say goodbye and I'd rather say I love you think goodbye. Well that says a lot just in terms of your relationships with everybody but also what they're going through right now and what they went through breathing in all that toxic air and now unfortunately so many dealing with the consequences. All right well John Feele founder of the Feel Good Foundation and the author of a new memoir I will follow you anywhere the true story of the 9-11 responders who took on Congress thank you for coming on and we will put a link in our show notes to your book so everyone check

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