dojN001597.xml

dojN001597.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-14

Monday, January 14, 2002 8:35 PM
Victim's Compensation Fund

Dear Mr. Feinberg:

The following comments are in response to the interim guidelines established for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001:

On September 11, 2001, my 21 year-old son, was brutally murdered at the World Trade Center. As a result, my life and the lives of my husband and other children will never be the same. In our society, it is the right of individuals to be compensated for pain inflicted upon them by culpable parties. In its effort to protect the airline industry, Congress essentially took away that right from me by limiting the amount of any award to insurance coverage. In return, Congress enacted legislation to compensate me for s murder. The interim guidelines, however, do not permit appropriate compensation.

While I agree that all families deserve the same amount of compensation for pain and suffering, the amount recommended is absolutely inappropriate and hurtful. The amount of $250,000 minimizes the pain and suffering my son, and each of the other murdered victims, endured. I urge you to increase the amount for pain and suffering to $2,000,000 per claim. While no amount will fully compensate us for s death, a significant award will acknowledge our degree of grief and loss.

Additionally, although the interim guidelines provide for compensation to victims children, there is no mention of compensation to siblings. My son lived at home with his parents and two sisters. My daughters are devastated. They are suffering as though they have lost a parent. I urge you to acknowledge their pain by allowing additional compensation for siblings who lived in the same household with single victims.

Finally, I urge you to make the final guidelines clear and unambiguous. Since the act of applying to the fund includes waiving ones right to pursue litigation, one must know absolutely the amount of compensation to expect in return. The interim guidelines appear to indicate the claimants award may be determined by the claimants financial need. If this is the case, it is another travesty. My level of financial security should have absolutely no bearing on compensation for my sons murder.

Thank you for providing this opportunity to comment on the interim guidelines. Please consider the above recommendations in order to make this the compassionate, healing measure Congress intended.

Respectfully yours,
Individual Comment
Woodside, NY

2002-01-14