W000407
Tuesday, November 20, 2001 12:00 PM
Victims' Compensation Fund
Dear Mr. Zwick:
I write to you on behalf of my sister, ,
who lost her husband, , at the World Trade
Center. is now left to raise their two girls,
ages three and one, on her own.
I will not delineate what elements of economic and non-
economic damages I believe should be available under
the fund or whether or not you should permit appeals
of the Special Master's decisions. Instead, I ask only
that you fulfill the promise Congress made when the
fund statute was passed - take care of these families.
In the days immediately following the attack, the days
when we were combing the city trying desperately to
find in one of the many area hospitals, it
seemed that the City and country couldn't do enough to
help the families. At the family centers, volunteers
waited with food and drink and anything else we could
possibly need. They took care of us. On television
various charities asked for donations, celebrities
held concerts to raise funds; they promised to take
care of us. My sister was so amazed by the outpouring
of love and support that even she donated to the Red
Cross. Everyone promised my sister it would be okay -
that the country would take care of her and their
beautiful girls.
Now, two months later, the country's charities have
reneged on their promise. After hundreds of hours of
investigation and a significant amount of groveling,
my sister has received approximately $30,000 of the
almost one billion dollars collected, and it does not
appear that there is anything more on the horizon.
They are not going to take care of her and her little
girls.
The reason I tell you this is because the rumors that
are circulating indicate that the federal government
is about to walk out on her as well. That the
regulations to be released in December will so limit
potential recovery that the fund will become
meaningless. The statute Congress passed allows for
potentially realistic recovery - if it is interpreted
in a manner that emphasizes making the
families 'whole' rather than in a manner that saves
the federal government as much money as possible. The
thought that the government might deduct from her
recovery the $30,000 she received from various
charities is obscene.
It seems as though the promises of help made in
September were made without much thought, and now,
after having given it some consideration, our would-be
saviors are heading for the hills. The country's
charities have already abandoned the families of
September 11th, please do not do the same.
Thank you for your consideration.
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