N002257
Kenneth L. Zwick
Office of Management Programs
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Division
Main Building, Room 3140
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
The following are changes we would like to see
in the rules relating to the program established to compensate
victims of the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist related attack.
1 Right to appeal
2 More then 120 days to get changes through
3 Know what estimated settlement or Minimum
is before hand.
4 How Payout is Handled
5 Pain & Suffering for all parties.
6 Life Insurance not to be deductable.
7 Charity not to be deductable.
Individual Comment
(Please Print)
Dear Mr. Zwick:
With heavy hearts we write this letter to you representing not only ourselves but the
hundreds of other families who lost loved ones in the tragic events of September 11,
2001.
On September 11th our lives spiraled out of control. Writing this letter to you in response
to your request for comments about the Victims Compensation Fund is one step towards
us regaining control over our new lives, and learning to have hope for tomorrow.
The Victims Compensation Fund's intent is to attempt to make whole the families of the
victims. While the fund is set up as a convenient, expedient process, we are concerned
and do share some reservations about its ability to make us whole.
OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD
First, and foremost, we are concerned that we will not be given a complete and full
opportunity to be heard, should we choose to do so. Each of us rightfully deserves the
opportunity to be fairly heard before a hearing officer. We would like to have the
occasion to present evidence though our own testimony and the testimony of expert
witnesses. We would like for each of our cases to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
For many of us, being given the right to be heard is a crucial and extremely valuable part
of out healing process. We hope you understand this.
RIGHT TO APPEAL AND FORM OF PAYMENT
Secondly, we would like to not only have the right to appeal, but in addition, we would
like the payment to be in one lump sum, and be paid out to the beneficiary, consistent
with what our investment advisors counsel is the best for our individual family
circumstances. Thus, for example, we should be allowed to request that any payment
made to our minor children should be in trust. In addition, as the parent of said minor
children, we should determine the date of vesting. The trust should not automatically vest
at the age of 18, unless we determine it is in our children's own best interests to do so.
ECONOMIC LOSSES
Third, and of paramount importance to us, is the computation of economic losses. We
are strongly against any cap being placed upon this portion of recovery. Simply put, no
one should be penalized because their spouse worked long, hard hours and earned a
"good salary."
We would request an approach like that used in personal injury actions. Retirement
should be set at age 68. The decedent's income should be averaged over the past 3
working years. The decedent" age should be subtracted from 68. Those two numbers
should be multiplied together, thereby gleaning a starting point for computation. From
this base point, other factors such as inflation, wage-increases, merit, likely bonuses and
advancement and any other benefits should be considered.
NON-ECONOMIC LOSSES
Fourth, with regard to the non-economic losses of the fund, there should be absolutely be
no cap on this amount. Each person's circumstances must be evaluated individually.
Each case should take into account age of the decedent, marital status of the decedent,
and the amount and age of the decedent's children, the severity of the pain and suffering
of each affected individual (both mental and physical), including the person injured or
killed, the spouse, the children and the parents.
We would certainly hope that any non-economic recovery from this fund to be generous
in light of the terrible circumstances of September 11th.
COLLATERAL SOURCES
Finally, with regard to collateral sources, we are very concerned about their use to offset
any amount recovered from the fund. Life insurance should not be deducted from the fund
payments. Simply put, life insurance is not taxed by the IRS for one reason - it
encourages people to plan for their heirs. To deduct any life insurance from fund
payments would penalize those who were merely responsible estate planners. The
decedent's sacrificed and save hard-earned money to pay for such plans; they are already
victims once, don't make them victim's twice.
Moreover, pension funds, IRS's, and 401k plans should not be deducted from the fund's
recovery amount. These plans were responsibly sacrificed and saved for by our spouses,
essentially, they are saving accounts, and they should not be deducted from the fund.
With regard to charity, Americans across this country donated their hard-earned money
as a symbol of their patriotism, and our brotherhood as a nation. To deduct this charity
money from any final payment would, in our opinion, be wrong. Donations made to
families like us were generously and selflessly given to us as a form of healing for both
donor and receiver. Every single dollar donated and received gives each of us hope for
tomorrow and belief in our country as a united whole. Please do not denigrate this
beautiful symbol of our nation standing together as one.
In closing, we would like to sincerely thank you for asking us for our comments. We are
all struggling through extremely difficult times. Your asking for our input about the
Victims Compensation Fund - something that will have enormous and tremendous
bearing on the rest of our lives - truly and honestly gives us a small bit of peace in our
restless minds. We can only ask you to please keep our children and us in your hearts
during the weeks ahead.
September 11th Victims Families
Individual Comment
Edison, NJ