N002048
Saturday, January 19, 2002 12:57 PM
January 9
January 19, 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,"İevery death is
tragic. A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your love 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 fromİThe 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 died.
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.
Sincerely
Individual Comment