Washington (CNN) A 9/11 first responder on Tuesday gave Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell the police badge of a terminally ill colleague in order to get McConnell to "understand the importance" of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.

"That wasn't my intention (to give McConnell the badge). That was Luis' intention. Luis wanted Mitch McConnell to have his badge. And let me tell you something, for a New York City police officer to give up his badge, that's like somebody donating an organ, and Luis wanted the Senate majority leader to understand the importance of this and to be reminded that people are sick and dying," 9/11 first responder John Feal said on Wednesday to CNN's John Berman on "New Day."

His fellow first responder, former New York Police Department bomb squad detective Luis Alvarez, announced last week that he had entered end-of-life hospice care, writing in a Facebook post that "(there) is nothing else the doctors can do to fight" the cancer he has from his 9/11-related medical issues. Earlier this month, Alvarez testified to Congress about his medical issues and the need for lawmakers to reauthorize the 9/11 victims fund which is set to expire in 2020 if lawmakers do not act.

Feal told Berman that Alvarez "is going to leave us soon in the near future," so the plan "worked."

"You know, when I handed that to (McConnell) and I shook his hand with that badge, I -- I thought I was going to shake hands with Darth Vader. I (shook) hands with Obi-Wan Kenobi, who can help us," Feal said.

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