NYPD’s Luis Alvarez, Resolute Champion for 9/11 First Responders, Dies at Age 53

Retired NYPD bomb squad detective Luis Alvarez, a Ground Zero first responder who implored House lawmakers to reauthorize the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, died today in Rockville Centre, N.Y., at age 53.

Alvarez vowed to ensure that Congress never forgets to take care of the 9/11 first responders. He received a standing ovation from the room packed full of first responders at the conclusion of his testimony. "I should not be here with you, but you made me come, you made me come because I will not stand by while friends with cancer from 9/11 are valued any less," Alvarez testified alongside advocate Jon Stewart at a June 11 hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

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