dojN001990.xml

dojN001990.xml

born-digital

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2002-01-18

Friday January 18, 2002 12:06 PM
Victims Compensation Fund of 2001

Attachment 1,

January 15, 2002

To Our Elected Officials:

In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack of The United States, on

September 11, Congress enacted the Victims' Compensation Fund of 2001
P.L. 107-42, to compensate the relatives of the victims of that brutal
attack. As you know, this Fund was enacted as part of a comprehensive
package which bailed out the airline industry and imposed restrictions
of the rights of the victims' relatives to recover damages from court.
We implore upon you, as our elected officials, to demand changes to the
interim rules issued by Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master. As it
stands, Mr. Feinberg's self-imposed rules fail to satisfy the letter or
the spirit of the legislation, which was enacted.

Specifically, we request that you act on our behalf and demand the
following changes to the interim rules:

1. Remove arbitrary income limits
The arbitrary income limits imposed by the Special Master are not only
unfair but also inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the law.
Those victims from the financial industry are specifically harmed by
this limit. They were targeted and murdered precisely because of the
jobs they held and where they worked - the World Trade Center, the
Financial capital of the world, the embodiment of financial success.
Those who achieved such success should see that reflected in their
awards. They personified American Business and commerce, democracy and
freedom. We ask that you demand that Mr. Feinberg lift the arbitrary
income limits so that each family can be treated fairly; commensurate
with the support they provided their families before their death.

2. Increase non-economic rewards.
Mr. Feinberg has arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain
and suffering, no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering.
This is unacceptable. In the words of Congressman Peter King,"...every
death is tragic. A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your
loved one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - in
a scene which will be repeated in the media for decades to come is a
horror these families will never escape from... The Special Master
cannot take it upon himself to restrict the rights of the families."
Therefore, we request that the interim rules be amended to more
appropriately compensate the victims' families' for the immeasurable
pain and suffering endured by our loved ones. As Mayor Giuliani stated
in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did
die...Their families need to be protected just as if they had been
alive, financially and every other way that we can help and assist their
families...There should be no compromise about that ever..." We request
that the interim rules be amended and that compensation for pain and
suffering more accurately reflect that horror which was suffered.
Justice demands no less.

Individual Comment
New York, NY

2002-01-18