dojN002158.xml

dojN002158.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-21

Monday, January 21, 2002 7:28 AM
comments to Victims Compensation Program

As the daughter of a deceased victim at the WTC on 9/11/01, my comments are on behalf of myself and my mother. I realize that Congress played a role in these guidelines, so I have therefore added my Congress representative, Vito Fossella to this mail distribution

1. Prior to settling a law suit out of court, before trial, or during trial, a plaintiff knows the $ settlement before relinquishing their right to sue. The survivors of 9/11 should also be given this treatment and not have to depend on "assumed" amounts based on your tables;

2. By passing the Airline bailout bill, Congress has taken away our rights under the basic fundamentals of our founding fathers to sue;

3. If America can give money to rebuild Afghanistan, feed the Afghan people, bail out the airlines, foot the bill for the Enron debacle (who also didn't pay taxes for years), have US-funded scholarships for immigrants to come study in the US, why can't our government help the families of 9/11?

4. The innocent people who lost their lives on 9/11 went to work to provide for their families and pay taxes. Taxes were meant to protect us. By not stopping these perpetrators, our federal government failed us and should be held accountable to the highest standards. Our government is indirectly the murderers.

5. The compensation fund does not take into account how expensive medical coverage will be for surviving families. 401k's, Pensions and Life Insurance proceeds should not be deducted. Pensions and 401k's were meant for retirement, not to provide for families when our government failed to protect the lives of our loved ones. People who planned for natural death should not be penalized for having been responsible citizens and taking care of their families. In a court of law, a plaintiff is not asked their 401K, pension or life insurance? 9/11 survivors shouldn't be either.

6. People keep saying taxpayers are footing the bill for the Compensation Fund. Well didn't taxpayers foot the bill in the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp settlement and the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp settlement with the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp ? &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp says NYC and NYPD were responsible for not having the proper supervision of a bad cop; and &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp says NYC was responsible for not having emergency response respond sooner. Well, isn't the United States federal government responsible for letting four hijacked planes get off the ground, not having jet fighters respond sooner? Isn't INS and the US Customs Dept responsible for letting these terrorists over stay their visas and getting in the country in the first place? The FDNY equipment was not adequate in that their radios didn't work past the 55th floor of a skyscraper; where was the jet foam to distinguish a jet-fuel fire?

7. Based upon my points in Item #6, $250,000 for pain and suffering is too low. What about the pain and suffering of the loved ones left behind? We don't yet know the long-term psychological effects for children and how this could inhibit their learning and future. What about non-dependent children? I took so much time off from my job in those days to help my mother that I could have jeopardized my job. Because I am 28 years old, the federal government tells me I am not eligible for compensation.

8. Why is the non-economic amount for pain and suffering added to the economic amount and then collateral deductions are made? Then you should not make separate out non-economic and economic if you just add them together at the end. This is giving a false impression to the media and other citizens, and we are therefore viewed as "greedy";

9. When you give the "average payout amount" you should give the amount after your ridiculous collateral offsets, because the pre-offset figure of $1.6 million is grossly mistaken and is what is making us viewed as greedy.


Sincerely,
Individual Comment

2002-01-21