It says something about the 111th Congress that there was so much resistance to a bill giving health benefits to 9/11 emergency responders—one that was fully paid for and had widespread public support. 

Now that the bill has passed, The Nation‘s Chris Hayes speaks with one of its most vocal advocates, House Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-New York), about how progressive legislation ever makes it through Congress. The answer? Often it’s because of "unstoppable pressure" from outside the Beltway, and the amount of media attention being brought to bear on an issue.

Read Chris Hayes’s latest column on how the Senate sorely needs filibuster reform here.

—Braden Goyette