N002156
Monday, January 21, 2002 5:26 AM
Comments on interim rule
To whom it may concern:
My daughter died on Flight 93, a hero for her country. I went to the White House Reception for Family Members of Flight 93,
and the Chief of Staff told us so in his opening remarks before the
President's address to us. He spoke to us on behalf of the entire
White House staff, who thanked us all individually as we left for
the heroism of the passengers on that flight, which potentially saved
their lives.
I am dismayed by the interim rule for three reasons:
(1) Obviously, I believe that the passengers on Flight 93 were special.
They took a vote to save the lives of their countrymen. They deserve
some recognition of their heroism. To date, they and their families
have received a quite nice reception at the White House, but little
else.
(2) Beyond the special circumstances of Flight 93 as opposed to the
passengers of the other flights, ALL passengers on ALL the flights
of September 11th entered into a situation in which the airlines AND
the government, by extension and agreements with the airlines vis-a-vis
airport security, were responsible specifically for their safety. The
passengers on all of the flights should be compensated at a higher rate
than those who were on the ground because of the inevitability of
their fate once they were on the planes in comparison to the chance
presence of victims on the ground at the sites where the planes went
down. The airlines and the government (again by extension) were
specifically responsible for my daughter and the rest of the passengers
on Flight 93 and the other planes. (Theoretically, the government is
also responsible for the presence (and by extension the safety) of the
staff personnel who were victims at the Pentagon.)
(3) The interim rule proposes on the first page to avoid making
calculations by income levels, etc., yet apparently on the following
pages it outlines plans to do just exactly that. Such calculations
do not address the loss to me and my daughter's mother of the
POTENTIAL FOR JOY IN LIFE, watching our daughter complete her college
course and enter into a productive life helping others as a child
psychologist. My daughter's age and occupation as a student place
her in a category which is addressed by "individual circumstances",
without explaining what those individual circumstances are. I have
described some of the indivual circumstances which I think affect the
"calculation" of loss caused by the death of my daughter as a passenger,
as a hero, and as a potential source of joy in life which has been
taken from me as a result of the poor security systems in place at
Newark Airport.
I expect that the interim rule will have to be amended in order to
more adquately address the individual circumstances I have described.
I am reluctant to accept the current form of this document as a model
for the final compensation system.
I understand the difficulty of developing this rule, and I hope to
be able to see an improved final version and to be able to accept it.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Stockton, CA