dojN001611.xml

dojN001611.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-15

Tuesday, January 15, 2002 2:51 AM
Needed Changes to Victim's Compensation Fund

Dear Mr. Feinberg:

My husband was killed in the WTC on September 11th, he was on the floor of Tower 2. He was 39 years old and a Vice President in his company. Upon reviewing the current rules associated with the Victim's Compensation Fund I've come to the conclusion that my son (21 months old) and I will receive nothing from the fund. We will be penalized because my husband had the common sense to plan for the future by securing life insurance. There should not be a deduction for life insurance and pensions. My husband's life insurance should not be used to subsidize the airline's negligence.

My son and I will also be penalized because my husband's earnings for 2001 exceeded the salary cap and the only earnings that will be considered are those for the 1998 through 2000 year. My husband was promoted in 2001 and also received a substantial increase in salary that year; this should be considered in determining his future earnings. The terrorist attacks occurred in the fourth quarter of 2001; the year was almost over. Earnings for the 2001 year should be considered in the calculations and salary caps should be removed. The government never put a cap on the taxes my husband and I paid therefore, there should be no cap on his salary. Also, my husband's retirement age would have been 67 (he was born in 1962). The victim's families are not looking to profit off their loved ones death, like many people unaffected by this tragedy seem to think. We just want to be made whole financially; we would like to maintain a similar lifestyle to the one we would have had if our loved one was still alive.

Instead of penalizing the victim's families our government should be penalizing those responsible for the terrorists attacks. The airlines should be held accountable for their lack of security, something which the public and government has been aware of for many years. It seems like our government is more concerned with protecting the airlines rather than the thousands of people who were victimized by the terrorist attacks. Who is the advocate for the victim's families? Also, why aren't Osama Bin Laden's frozen assets being used to subsidize the Victims Compensation Fund? What happens to these assets? Where do they eventually end up? How much of the taxpayers money is being used to feed the people in Afghanistan, a country we are at war with? These people we are feeding are the same people who were cheering in the streets upon hearing that the WTC towers collapsed killing thousands. These people are also the same people who ambush our soldiers. If the government uses the American people's money for humanitarian efforts in a country we are at war with, then why are they not willing to make whole all these families that have lost their main wage earner?

Please revise the rules governing the Victims Compensation Fund so that the Fund becomes a viable option for people like me. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Individual Comment
Emerson, NJ

2002-01-15