N002397
FAX TO: Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick
DATE: January 15, 2002
After reading and re-reading the Interim Final Rules pertaining to the Victims
Compensation Fund, I have spent many nights tossing and turning trying to
figure out why the Department of Justice has ignored the fundamental mandate
of the Victims Compensation Fund to provide full and fair compensation to
victims and their families. All of us who have lost our loved ones in the 9/11
disaster are suffering so immensely, why would the Department of Justice inflict
more pain and cause us to worry even more? I am deeply disturbed thinking the
following reasons are real possibilities:
- Money - The Department of Justice will look good if they save the
government money. Will this be done at the expense of the 9/11 victims
and their families?
- More Money - Perhaps if the whole package is closed efficiently and
effectively many people in your department will benefit monetarily? For
example, perhaps certain people will be called for future government
issues? Will money be made now or in the future at the expense of the
9/11 victims and their families?
- Position: Perhaps certain people will gain favor with their superiors
ensuring advancement in their own career or ensure political favors in the
future? Will political goals be achieved at the expense of the 9/11 victims
and their families?
- Job Description - Perhaps the Department of Justice employs people,
who lie well and can listen with deaf ears. Examples: Back in December,
Mr. Feinberg told all the people at the meeting that
there would be no caps on income-then the interim regulations were
published showing caps. Also, I just cannot get the image of Mr. Feinberg
out of my head when, at the end of that meeting, he looked one mom
straight in the eyes, shook her hand, smiled and nodded. She begged him
to remember her five children!
Maybe I am off base, maybe I just expect too much. You see, for the last 11
years, I have been married to a man of unbelievable integrity, A man, who
believed that his success was based on the work he performed, even if that
meant sustaining a loss to make the sale his clients requested. My confident(and
very successful) husband knew that nothing was a loss as long as he was fair
and consistent.
Hopefully, the above reasons(that I keep thinking of why the Department of
Justice and the Special Master have set forth such oppressive, unfair and
inconsistent regulations) are not true. I guess one way we will find out that they
are not true is if the regulations are rewritten to reflect the original
intent of the statute. None of the victims asked for the fund. Instead, the
airline's lobbied (no later than September 12, 2001) for help and in response
Congress capped their liability. Since Congress acknowledged the fact that the
airline liability cap severely restricted the victim's right to sue the airlines, the
Victims Compensation Fund was created to provide the victims and their families
with full payment for a wide range of specified non-economic damages
and full restitution for economic damages (e.g., lost future income), minus
collateral payments. The intent of the statute allows awards to be based
on the actual damages of each individual claimant. The regulations are
contrary to the original intent of the statute and these horrific
shortcomings need to be addressed. For example:
- Pre-determined and presumptive awards do not account for individual
facts of each claim or actual damages of each claimant.
Nowhere does the statute require or suggest that the Department of
Justice of the Special Master have the right to impose limits on economic
or non-economic losses.
- Presumptive and arbitrary determination of the value of non-economic
losses should be removed. Again, the Act requires that the awards for
non-economic losses should be based upon individual circumstances of
each claimant.
- To be successful in obtaining awards above the pre-determined,
presumptive guidelines, each claimant must show "extraordinary
circumstances" that were not addressed by the presumptive award
methodology. Nowhere, does the statute require proof of "extraordinary than
any other family's circumstances?
- In addition, since the Special Master has repeatedly stated that he will not make Solomon-
like distinctions between families, how can any family successfully prove that their circumstances are more extraordinary than any other family's circumstances?
- Hearings should not have a set time limit. I don't understand how the
pre-determined hearing limit of two hours was established in light of the
requirement to establish "extraordinary circumstances" to justify a higher
recovery, I keep thinking that when I go for my hearing, I will be in the
middle of explaining my claim and someone will say, "I'm sorry, your time
is up, NEXT" It appears that the term, "hearing" should be more than
adequately defined in the regulations.
- Impartial, independent, non-political hearing officers should be used
when processing claims.
- Impartial, independent, non-political hearing officers should be
used when processing claims.
- Each claimant should be allowed to obtain an advisory opinion as to
the valuation of one's claim without the pressure of having to waive
any rights upon submission of their claim.
- A record of hearing should be required. This way, If a claimant feels
that the award is inappropriate, they can file an appeal with the
Special Master and the Special Master could review the award
based on the record of hearing.
- The regulations need to be more specific regarding the definition of
collateral source deductions.
If a nation can find $15 billion dollars to bail out the airlines and $40,000,000 to
fund the Afghanistan Freedom and Reconstruction Act 2001, It can surely provide
the full amount necessary to fairly compensate the families of the innocent
victims of September 11, 2001 attacks. If the regulations are not changed
to conform to the original intent of the Victims Compensation Fund and
the Fund is not implemented in a fair and consistent manner, then, the
Department of Justice and the Special Master will not only fail the
victims and their families, but the Department of Justice and the
Special Master will also have failed Congress!
Thank you for your consideration into these matters, I look forward to hearing
from you soon.
Individual Comment