RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Now we want to take a moment to remember a retired NYPD detective and 9/11 responder named Luis Alvarez (ph) who died on Saturday. Last month, he sat alongside comedian Jon Stewart and gave this testimony on Capitol Hill.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LUIS ALVAREZ: It is my goal and it is my legacy to see that you do the right thing for all 9/11 responders.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
What was really powerful about Luis Alvarez's testimony was his face and his body. He was thin. He had sunken eyes, unhealthy looking skin. He was wearing a blue New York Police Department bomb squad jacket. He told a House committee that he would soon undergo his 69th round of chemotherapy. He said his cancer was linked to the months spent searching through the toxic rubble at ground zero.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALVAREZ: I have been to many places in this world, but I can tell you that I did not want to be anywhere else but ground zero when I was there.
MARTIN: Alvarez was the leading champion for extending health benefits to 9/11 first responders. The September 11th Victims (ph) Compensation Fund is set to run out of money by December 2020.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ALVAREZ: You all said you would never forget. Well, I'm here to make sure that you don't.
INSKEEP: Alvarez died at age 53. The full House is expected to vote on new funding for victims compensation in the coming weeks.
(SOUNDBITE OF WILLIAM BASINSKI'S "DISINTEGRATION LOOP, PT. 5") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.